Toronto Maple Leafs News

Head coach Sheldon Keefe is "not too concerned" with Matthews' upper-body injury. He told reporters Matthews was a possibility to play tonight but just wasn't feeling completely right, so they'll be cautious early in the season. With Matthews and Joe Thornton both out, the Maple Leafs will be without ⅔ of their top-line vs. the Oilers. Adam Brooks is expected to draw in to replace Matthews in some capacity.

Myers suffered the injury on a hit from Jake McCabe, who also dislocated Morgan Frost's left shoulder in the same game. With Myers listed as week-to-week, he'll likely miss at least two weeks and Mark Friedman is expected to draw into the lineup for him on Thursday.

Robertson made his season debut on Saturday but suffered a knee injury, which Sheldon Keefe said is going to force him to "miss some time." If Robertson misses a lengthy period of time it puts the Maple Leafs in a salary cap crunch. They waived Jason Spezza and Aaron Dell on Saturday to try and free up some space for Robertson's replacement.

Ekman-Larsson was hurt late in Saturday's game on a hit from Evander Kane and is expected to miss an extended period of time. Moving him to IR, means Ekman-Larsson will miss at least three games but the expectation is that he will be out longer than that.

Robertson sat out of the first two games of the season but will replace Alexander Barabanov on Saturday. Robertson had one goal in four playoff games last year after posting 86 points (55G / 31A) in 46 OHL games.

Myers was elevated to the NHL full-time in 2020, tallying four goals with 12 assists (16 points) in 50 games. Myers has tremendous size (6-foot-5, 212 lbs.) and could be asked to step into a much larger role on the Flyers blueline in 2021 following Matt Niskanen's sudden retirement.

Tanev is a stable defenseman that can play the tough minutes but offers very little in the way of offence. Tanev struggled when he wasn't paired with Quinn Hughes in 2020 but this addresses a big need after the departure of TJ Brodie. Expect Brodie to be paired with Mark Giordano at the top of the Flames' blueline.

Shaw spent a large portion of 2020 with the Jets, registering just five points (3G / 2A) in 35 games. Shaw has produced strong numbers at the AHL-level but has settled in as a fourth-liner in his NHL career. If he starts 2021 in the AHL, he'll likely be one of the first forwards called-up by Ottawa.

Benning has decent size (6-foot-1, 203 lbs) and moves the puck pretty well but is just a mid-tier third pairing defenseman. Now in Nashville, Benning will be one-half of their new third-pair, which will include Mark Borowiecki on the left side, who was also signed on Friday.

Dahlstrom served as the Jets' No.7 defenseman in 2020, picking up just one assist in 15 games. Dahlstrom won't be a regular on a deep Vegas blueline but could serve as a No.7 defenseman with them as well.

The Blue Jackets acquired Domi from the Canadiens on Tuesday and signed him to a two-year deal on Wednesday. Domi immediately becomes the Blue Jackets' second line centre and will likely play with Gustav Nyquist and Cam Atkinson and will see PP2 time. Through the first five years of his career, Domi has averaged 18 goals and 37 assists (55 points) per 82-games.

Domi is coming off of a bit of a down year, scoring just 17 goals with 27 assists (44 points) in 71 games. That's down from his 28 goals and 44 assists in his debut season with Montreal but still would have been second on the Blue Jackets in points in 2020. Domi is exactly the type of player the Blue Jackets were in need of and pushes Boone Jenner to a third-line centre role, which is a much better fit for him. The acquisition of Domi, who will likely skate on a line with Gustav Nyquist and Cam Atkinson, signals that the Blue Jackets are likely done with Alexander Wennberg.