Toronto Maple Leafs News

Fresh off their first Stanley Cup championship, the Panthers will likely turn to Bobrovsky between the pipes in their season opener against the Boston Bruins, a rematch of their second-round playoff matchup. Last season, Bobrovsky touted an impressive 2.37 GAA and .915 SV% in 58 games (36-17-4), his best totals since the 2018-19 season as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Panthers enter the action on Tuesday as -147 home favorites against the Bruins. That said, Bobrovsky boasts an ugly 3.62 GAA and .891 SV% in 21 career games against the Bruins (4-11-4), his lowest totals against any club.

Mermis signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs in the offseason but will begin his 2024-25 campaign on the Long-Term Injured Reserve due to an upper-body injury. The 30-year-old is week-to-week after undergoing successful jaw surgery last week. In 47 games with Minnesota in 2023-24, he had three goals, eight points and 33 PIMs.

Cowan was never really expected to make Toronto out of training camp and has been loaned back to the London Knights (OHL) for the upcoming 2024-25 season. The 19-year-old who was Toronto's 2023 1st-round pick (28th overall) will rejoin an already stacked team in London that currently ranks third in the CHL's top ten rankings after week 1.

In mid-September, the Canucks announced that 28-year-old Dakota Joshua had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and successfully had a tumor removed but would not be ready for the start of training camp. The fifth-year winger is coming off his best season in 2023-24, with 18 goals, 32 points, 60 PIMs, 84 SOG, and a +19 plus/minus through 63 games played and could return to the lineup by November.

Webber is a towering 6'7 defenseman who was drafted 99th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old has spent the last four seasons playing collegiate hockey for Boston University, scoring 16 points (1G / 15A) in 123 combined games.

McCabe did not skate Friday for Toronto's practice and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 30-year-old will hope to be ready for Toronto's opening night game vs Montreal on Wednesday, October 9th as he is an integral part of their defensive core. In 73 games with Toronto in 2023-24, he had eight goals, 28 points and 56 PIMS.

Vancouver announced Tuesday that 28-year-old Dakota Joshua had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and successfully had a tumour removed but would not be ready for the start of training camp. The fifth-year winger is coming off his best season in 2023-24, with 18 goals, 32 points, 60 PIMs, 84 SOG and a +19 plus/minus through 63 games played.

A Toronto Marlies (AHL) defensive staple is returning for two more seasons after the Maple Leafs signed Marshall Rifai to a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension on Thursday. The 26-year-old undrafted defenseman made his NHL debut in 2023-24, appearing in two games and failing to pick up any points. Since joining the Marlies (AHL) from Harvard (NCAA) in 2022-23, Rifai has six goals and 35 points in 126 games played.

Danford was Toronto's 2024 1st round pick (31st overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on Friday. The 18-year-old defensemen enjoyed a strong second season in Oshawa (OHL), picking up a goal and 33 points in 64 games played.

Marchenko built on a successful first season in Columbus by scoring 23 goals with 19 assists (42 points) in 78 games in 2023-24. The Blue Jackets were not busy in the offseason, so Marchenko will be a prominent part of their top-6 again in 2024-25. He saw a small bump in ice time down the stretch last season, and that will need to remain if he's going to be a 30-plus goal scorer this season.

For his ninth NHL season, Jack Roslovic will be joining the Carolina Hurricanes after he signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract on Thursday morning. The 27-year-old spent 2023-24 split between Columbus and New York and had nine goals, 31 points, 16 PIMs and a -10 plus/minus through 59 games played.

Pare was a sixth-round pick of the Bruins in 2017 but spent the last two season with the Colorado Eagles (AHL), and tallied 35 points (14G / 21A) in 61 games in 2024. He will start the 2025 season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

Myers had a really strong year in the AHL in 2024, posting 23 points (4G / 19A) and a plus-29 rating in 61 games for the Syracuse Crunch. He'll likely be an AHLer to start 2024-25 but gives the Maple Leafs some nice organizational depth on the right side of the blueline. He appeared in five NHL games with the Lightning last year and has 158 career games under his belt.

Mermis spent most of 2024 with the Minnesota Wild, where he set career highs in games (47), goals (3), assists (5) and points (8). Expect him to start 2024-25 in the AHL--he had 26 points (5G / 21A) in 63 AHL games in 2023.

Groulx was a second-round pick of the Ducks in 2018 and appeared in 68 games with them over the last three seasons. Last year, he was a fringe NHLer, playing in 45 of the 82 games and picked up just two assists. Given the depth in New York, expect Groulx to start 2025 in Hartford (AHL).