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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to successfully navigate some notable absences in wins over St. Louis and Philadelphia, and will have to do so again against the Anaheim Ducks in the final game of their three-game homestand at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated after the morning skate that captain John Tavares is out day-to-day with a minor injury, and veteran Mark Giordano is out due to the death of his father on Friday. Morgan Rielly is serving the third game of his five-game suspension. The Leafs are hoping that the suspension could get reduced after an appeal on Friday, but the likelihood of that is slim.
Max Domi will move up to center the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and William Nylander, the third line will be comprised on Nick Robertson, Bobby McMann, and Pontus Holmberg, and Ryan Reaves will rejoin the fourth line with David Kampf and Noah Gregor. Maxime Lajoie was recalled and will partner with William Lagesson on the bottom pairing, and Martin Jones will start after Ilya Samsonov made the last two starts.
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The chatter regarding possible trade targets is getting louder with less than three weeks to go before the March 8th deadline, and while most of the rumors connected to the Maple Leafs are linked to defensive help, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun is connecting Toronto to veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer is rumored to be on the block with the Minnesota Wild’s playoff chances diminishing, and with a full no-movement clause, Fleury can control where he wants to go. LeBrun reported that teams like Carolina, Toronto, and Colorado could be of interest to him. The Avalanche would seem to be the team most in need of goaltending help, with no legitimate backup for Alexandar Georgiev. Carolina is expecting to get Frederik Andersen back at some point from a blood disorder, and Joseph Woll is practicing with the Leafs.
Once again, trading for a goaltender would seem to be a waste of assets for Toronto, who are a playoff team but at best a dark horse Stanley Cup contender, while bolstering their blueline might give them a better chance of advancing deeper into the postseason.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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