After a busy October, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a few days to practice and get on the same page at their facility in Etobicoke, ON, before heading out on the road to take on the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Center John Tavares took part in practice for the second straight day, skating in between wingers Trevor Moore and Mitch Marner and it appear the Leafs team captain will make his return in Philadelphia after missing six games with a broken finger.
Jake Muzzin skated in a non-contact jersey on Friday after suffering a charley horse in the loss to Washington earlier in the week, but according to NHL.com’s Dave MacCarthy, the veteran defenseman will not travel with the club for the game on Saturday. Morgan Rielly participated in practice with pairing partner Cody Ceci and Martin Marincin replaced Muzzin on the second pairing alongside Tyson Barrie.
With Tavares potential return, head coach Mike Babcock once again relegated veteran center Jason Spezza to being an extra skater, as Alex Kerfoot shifted back to third line center between Ilya Mikheyev and Kasperi Kapanen and Nick Shore skated between Dmytro Timashov and Frederik Gauthier.
Prior to practice, the Leafs returned forward Nic Petan to the AHL Toronto Marlies. The 24-year-old had an assist in four games, but was only used in spot duty while up with the big club.
With the demotion, Toronto’s roster is down to 22 players, which includes Muzzin but not injured winger Zach Hyman, who is still on long-term injured reserve.
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Doug Gilmour is returning to the Blue and White.
The Hockey Hall-of-Famer announced on Friday that he is leaving the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and joining the Maple Leafs as a community representative, a role that former Leafs Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Curtis Joseph, and Darcy Tucker currently serve with the club.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Toronto in a formal capacity at a time when there is so much excitement for a team stacked with incredible talent.” Gilmour said in a statement on The Athletic. “I spoke with Brendan Shanahan about the new role with the team the other week — and I couldn’t be more excited. The most memorable days of my career were spent playing in front of Toronto’s fans. Now, I get to be one of them. I know several players on this team personally. There isn’t a better group to lead the franchise into a new era.”
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