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Leafs have few avenues to improve before playoffs, Gauthier injured

March 18, 2019, 11:38 AM ET [678 Comments]
Mike Augello
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Three weeks from today, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be getting ready to travel to Boston or host the Bruins for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs will try to recover from a disastrous week in which they gave up 17 goals in losses to Tampa, Chicago and Ottawa, with back-to-back road games in Nashville and Buffalo.

Boston and Toronto each have 10 games left and with the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, any tweaks to the roster or changes in fortune will have to come internally.

Injuries have limited the options available to GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Mike Babcock, with Kasperi Kapanen, Travis Dermott, Jake Gardiner, minor leaguers Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman out, and on Monday it was announced that center Frederik Gauthier will not travel with the team and play against the Preds and Sabres due to a foot injury.

The likely replacement for Gauthier is Nic Petan, who played up the middle for one game after being acquired from Winnipeg on February 25th. The Marlies just got back veteran minor leaguer Chris Mueller last week and have Adam Brooks and Pierre Engvall playing up the middle, but with Toronto having only two recalls remaining for the rest of the regular season, it is likely that Petan will get the call.

Kapanen skated at the Leafs practice facility on Monday, but the club will be careful to not rush him back from concussion issues. Dermott continues to skate to keep his conditioning up, but the target for his return is late March or early April before the end of the regular season. Gardiner’s status is still unknown and with Babcock saying that one of Martin Marincin, Justin Holl or Igor Ozhiganov needed to grab an open blueline spot, it is an indicator that the pending free agent may not be back for the foreseeable future.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported on Saturday that Rosen may return to the Marlies lineup later this week and with the 25-year-old having a great season (44 points - 7 goals, 37 assists in 52 games), his promotion could occur after a game or two.

The Leafs are very high on 2018 first round pick Rasmus Sandin, who has points in seven straight games and registered three assists in the Marlies 4-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday, but there does not appear to be any temptation to call up the 19-year-old with the parent club’s current defensive issues.

One move that should have been considered earlier, but likely will not be with the season winding down is replacing backup Garret Sparks with veteran Michael Hutchinson.

Hutchinson played well (2-3-0, 2.64 GAA, .914 save %) in the absence of Andersen and Sparks after being acquired from Florida in late December and is 12-3-1 in 19 games with the Marlies. Sparks allowed six goals on 44 shots in the loss on Saturday and has a .500 record (7-7-1) and below average numbers in goals against (3.24) and save percentage (.902). His performance could be considered the difference between having or not having home ice in the first round and a factor in overusing Frederik Andersen down the stretch.

Toronto only has two back-to-backs left this season, which means that Hutchinson being recalled would have little effect on the standings and would leave Kasimir Kaskisuo as the primary starter for the Marlies.

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GM Kyle Dubas has been proactive in getting some of the Leafs prospects and depth players signed over the last few weeks. The club locked up Soo Greyhounds defenseman Mac Hollowell and Mercyhurst U. blueliner Joseph Duszak to entry-level contracts, re-signed Marlies Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman, inked 2017 second rounder Eemeli Rasanen to a tryout contract and reportedly will get 2016 second rounder Yegor Korshkov signed once his KHL season has been completed.

Dakota Joshua’s NCAA career came to an end as Ohio State lost to Penn State on Sunday. The 22-year-old was selected by the Leafs in the fifth round pick of the 2014 NHL Draft and scored 100 points (41 goals, 59 assists) and 205 penalty minutes in 117 games with the Buckeyes in four seasons.

Joshua is a big bodied center (6’3” 200 lb), who skates well and plays with an edge, and with the Leafs organizational depth not great up the middle, it will be interesting to see if the club gets him signed right away or if he chooses to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

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