There were a number of newsworthy items this morning as the Toronto Maple Leafs get set to face the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena tonight.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an eventful start to the season. After defeating the Montreal Canadiens in thrilling fashion, 5-4 in overtime, the team split two road games in Ottawa. Now the Leafs will get ready to face the Winnipeg Jets, followed by back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers before they head out west for a road-trip.
Even though they’ve only played three games, it feels like half the season has taken place with so much news surrounding the team.
Mikko Lehtonen Will Make NHL Debut Tonight
The Leafs announced this morning that KHL superstar defensemen Mikko Lehtonen will finally make his NHL debut.
Sheldon Keefe says #Leafs will dress 7D tonight. Mikko Lehtonen will make his NHL debut.
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 18, 2021
Instead of dressing the traditional six defensemen, the Leafs have decided to go with seven defensemen for their match-up against the Jets. I’d expect Lehtonen to split time with either Travis Dermott or Zach Bogosian and hopefully he’ll see some time on the second power-play.
Nick Robertson Out For At Least a Month
Robertson made his NHL regular season debut on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators and his night was unfortunately over before it even started. The 19-year-old forward was only able to play just over two minutes of ice-time before sustaining a knee injury.
The #leafs got "good news" on Nick Robertson yesterday, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. He'll miss about four weeks.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 18, 2021
A significant knee injury could mean up to six months off the ice, but fortunately for the Leafs and Robertson, this injury isn’t as serious, as he’ll only miss about four weeks of action.
Jason Spezza Clears Waivers
It was reported that Jason Spezza was going to retire if another team claimed him, so it’s no surprise that he cleared waivers today. Spezza has been pretty clear for the last year that he wants to only play for the Leafs and try to win a Stanley Cup in his hometown.
In three games played, Spezza has one assist.
New Jersey Devils Claims Aaron Dell
The idea of having three goaltenders was too good to be true for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Aaron Dell was claimed by the New Jersey Devils this morning.
After having trouble with the back-up goaltender position for the past two seasons, Dell was looked at as a security blanket in case Freddie Andersen or Jack Campbell was injured. Instead, that role now belongs to Michael Hutchinson, who becomes the Leafs third-string goaltender.