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Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Pontus Holmberg from Toronto Marlies

By David Corcoran

TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 25: Pontus Holmberg #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the New York Rangers during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 25: Pontus Holmberg #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the New York Rangers during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Rangers 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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As per Cap Friendly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Pontus Holmberg from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies.

Both Holmberg and Joseph Woll were sent to the Marlies last week during the break from the Toronto Maple Leafs schedule to get in some action over the weekend.

Holmberg played both games against the Laval Rocket, while Woll started the Friday night game.

Holmberg finished the two games with no points and a -2 rating that came from a 7-3 loss on Saturday afternoon.

Woll looked sharp in his appearance as he stopped 25 of 26 shots to lead the Marlies to a 4-1 win on Friday night to improve to 13-1-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .930 Save Percentage.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Pontus Holmberg

Holmberg has taken over the fourth line center role, mainly because of the simple 200-foot game he plays that has earned a lot of trust from coach Sheldon Keefe.

The former sixth round selection has averaged 10:28 of ice-time this year in 33 games and has 13 points (reference: hockey-reference.com).

He has won his minutes, but his Corsi, Expected Goals and High Danger Scoring chances are under a 50% share.  

There is a lot of speculation that the club will be looking for a third center and if they do this, that would likely bump David Kampf down to the fourth line and Holmberg back to the Marlies.  The Leafs are getting a bit of a preview of what happens when one of their two centers go down with an injury as they now see Alexander Kerfoot centering the second line.  Note that Holmberg played a game in that role, but he took six minutes in penalties and it didn’t really go well.

Woll was recalled for a pair of games leading into the break, but there is not indication about him being recalled as of yet.  This could mean that Matt Murray’s ankle injury may not be that serious and he may be back this upcoming weekend during a home and home series on Friday and Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The veteran goaltender was a last-minute scratch on January 27 against the Ottawa Senators in a game he was schedule to start and then was proceeded to be scratched due to the injury for the next two games.

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Murray has played in 19 games this season posting an 11-5-2 record with a 2.73 GAA and .911 Save Percentage.

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