The Maple Leafs will be without one of their top defensemen in Chris Tanev, who was placed on injured reserve after sustaining an injury on Tuesday, and may be without another in Morgan Rielly, who is questionable after not practicing Thursday.
If Rielly is out, look for former Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe to man the top pair alongside Brandon Carlo.
Toronto also made changes up front at Thursday’s practice, moving leading scorer William Nylander to the wing alongside Auston Matthews (the spot formerly occupied by Mitch Marner, who departed for Vegas in the offseason).
It will be a relatively new look for the Maple Leafs’ top two offensive players, who have played together only sparingly at 5-on-5 during the past three seasons. Since 2023-24, they’ve shared just north of 550 minutes at even strength (compared to roughly 2,000 apart).
