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.
Stecher is an extremely mobile, puck-moving defenseman that will help the Red Wings' blueline immensely. Stecher set a new career-high in goals (5) last season but went from 19:55 ATOI to 15:21 as he was pushed down the Canucks' depth chart. Expect him to be back near 19:00 ATOI as he moves into the Red Wings' top-4.
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.
Mermis is a hard-working defenseman but doesn't bring a lot of offence to the equation. He had four points in 10 games with the Coyotes last season but that was an outlier when you put it up against his AHL numbers. The Wild have a quality blueline, so it will be difficult for Mermis to crack that group to start 2021.
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.
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.
Boyd will replace Lars Eller, who left the bubble to be with his wife for the birth of their second child and is expected to centre the third line. Boyd had three goals and seven assists (10 points) in 24 regular-season games.
Muzzin had to be stretched off of the ice late in Tuesday's Game 2 win. Muzzin was brought to hospital immediately but returned to the NHL bubble on Wednesday and will have to quarantine. He has been ruled out of the rest of Qualifying Round but could play in the playoffs if the Maple Leafs advance.
Muzzin had to be stretchered off of the ice late in the Maple Leafs' 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets in Game 2 and was immediately taken to hospital. This situation gets even more murky with Muzzin having to leave the NHL bobble. Chris Johnston of SportsNet reported that "medical officials will make the call on how long he'd have to quarantine if and when he's ready to return. It will depend on where he goes, how long he's gone and how much risk he's exposed to."
Domi sat out the first week of Phase 3 while deciding whether or not he will play in the Qualifying Round. Domi is at an increased risk as a Type-1 diabetic, so he took extra time to make his decision on the NHL's Return to Play program. During his first practice with the team, Domi took part in some drills and was featured on the second power-play unit.
