The eyes of the hockey world are on Toronto this Hall of Fame weekend, but as usual, the Maple Leafs are still generating some headlines of their own. Let’s dive in:
Joseph Woll will join the Toronto Marlies on a conditioning stint, Cayden Primeau is on waivers.
VIEWS: This next step in Woll’s return from a lengthy stay at home for personal reasons wouldn’t have been as critical if Primeau had been more consistent in his three games.
Primeau was the likely starter Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes after Anthony Stolarz draws the divisional assignment versus Boston but, if claimed by Saturday, one of the farm goalies — Dennis Hildeby or Artur Akhtyamov — might even face the Canes.
A timeline might already be in place to recall Woll now that he has had a few Leafs practices and once he has played a game or two on the farm team’s current trip.
Primeau — claimed on waivers from Carolina when Woll departed and, by all accounts, a great team man — hasn’t dazzled with an .838 save percentage.
Stolarz has looked overworked as a function of the Leafs poor play in front of him during October and could use his reliable vice-president again.
Regarding another off-ice farm development, the Leafs confirmed a tweet from the Puckpedia salary cap web site that demoted centre David Kampf is under suspension for not reporting to the Marlies on their trip. He was to make $1.075 million this season.
It was an expected development, but the proud NHL veteran and the club continue to work toward an amicable resolution, a trade or financial solution to find a fresh start.
Leafs are 3-0 to start November, three points out of first place as of Friday, though three points from the Atlantic Division seabed.
VIEWS: Which team shows up Saturday against the surprisingly contending Bruins?
“It takes a little time to find the right lines and chemistry,” Stolarz said. “The style of hockey the past three games is indicative of our record.”
Winger William Nylander had a rather off-the-wall theory.
“We had a great Halloween party in Philadelphia,” he deadpanned of buying a last-minute Darth Vader costume for himself.
To which Stolarz quipped a U.S, Thanksgiving Day celebration might be order when the team gets to Columbus, Washington and Pittsburgh at the end of the month.
Seriously, having a healthy roster of forwards has increased production to allow the team to once more score its way out of trouble.
With defenceman Chris Tanev still out with an upper-body injury, Toronto has allowed at least three goals a game in all but one contest since he was first concussed in October.
Ex-Bruins defenceman Brandon Carlo faces his old team for the first time since the deadline trade.
VIEWS: Originally seen as the ideal partner for the more offensively minded Morgan Rielly, Carlo has been useful with different combos and is a key shot-blocking penalty killer.
He’s likely going to dinner with a couple of mates and as it’s Hall weekend and a few Bruins are here for Zdeno Chara’s induction, including the retired Patrice Bergeron.
“It will be a little more emotional when I get to Boston (Tuesday),” Carlo said. “Jeremy Swayman, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy are guys I got to play with a long time. Those relationships will never diminish, but once you get on the ice, it’s competitive again.”
The jury is still out on the Leafs giving up forward Fraser Minten, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 and a fourth-rounder last June for Carlo.
Saturday is not the Hall of Fame Game, despite ex-Bruins Chara and Joe Thornton being in town for their cermony. That will be Sunday against the Hurricanes, as TSN owns the Fame Game’s broadcast rights.
The Leafs will have their annual pre-game Remembrance Day observance Saturday.
Leafs rank 30th in NHL power-play success (11.8%) and 31st in power-play opportunities.
VIEWS: Those numbers are going to improve in the kind of game Toronto played against Utah on Wednesday, a tired team that toiled the night before and had to latch on to some faster Leafs. But only one call was assessed on the Mammoth, for a third-period crosscheck.
“You’ll have to ask the league,” head coach Craig Berube said of the discrepancy, only half-joking. “In saying that, we have to do a better job executing our power play with the chances we have. That’s what it really boils down to.
“There have been plays where we’ve been in tight and had good chances where we’ve missed the net. We’ve been shooting the puck, if I look at the stats. we’re one of the top teams who’ve shot it on the power play. That’s not a problem, we have to keep attacking.
“The last eight games, our zone time has gone up. You work in the offensive zone, you make people take penalties. Just stay with it, don’t worry about it and eventually it will come around.”
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