On February 28th, 2023, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas traded defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals. In return, Toronto received the Boston Bruins’ first-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
After joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, Gustafsson appeared in eight games before taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.
Gustafsson took time off to be with his youngest daughter, Lusie. Before he was traded to Toronto, his daughter had been dealing with an unknown medical condition.
After a month of unknowns, Gustafsson and his family learned that Lusie has Celiac. Celiac is an autoimmune disease that attacks a person’s small intestine when they ingest gluten. Now that they know what it is and how to move forward, Gustafsson told David Alter of hockeynews.com that “She’s doing well now, and they’re all at home now.” With his daughter healthy and back at home, Gustafsson is happy to be back with the team.
Gustafsson returned to team on Tuesday to take part in the Maple Leafsnpractice, but did not play in Toronto’s 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He did return to game action on Saturday in a 7-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Erik Gustafsson’s Return to Toronto Maple Leafs
With Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie getting a night off to rest, Gustafsson received over 19 minutes of ice time on Saturday. He picked up three assists, and all of them were on the power play. Toronto went 4/6 on the power play, and Gustafsson is one of the reasons why. Gustafsson saw plenty of power-play time in Washington, where he had 11 power-play assists for the Capitals this season before the trade.
Gustafsson now has four assists in nine games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points in 61 games this season. With Toronto clinching home-ice advantage for round one of the playoffs, head coach Sheldon Keefe will continue to rest a few of his regular players. With three games remaining in their schedule, the Maple Leafs could give Gustafsson plenty of playing time in at least two of those games.
Toronto plays the Florida Panthers on Monday, April 10th, then the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, April 11th. They will then end the 2022-23 regular season in New York against the Rangers. The NHL playoffs will begin next week, and it will be Toronto against Tampa in a rematch from last season’s first round. The Maple Leafs will be hoping for a better outcome.