Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided several injury updates following Friday’s optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre.
Brandon Carlo underwent foot surgery on December 3 and is out indefinitely. Carlo hasn’t played since November 13 against the Los Angeles Kings.
“At some point, he’ll be able to get on the ice and skate. I don’t know that timeline right now,” Berube said.
Chris Tanev will receive a second opinion for an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since November 2. Tanev sustained the injury during a November 1 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The veteran defenceman skated in a red non-contact jersey on Friday.
Joseph Woll won’t play against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, but Berube believes he’s trending in the right direction. Woll was a participant in Friday’s practice.
“He keeps progressing the right way here like he has been, he could be a possibility, in my opinion,” Berube said.
Woll spoke to reporters Friday, while praising Dennis Hildeby for his excellent work while being thrust into the starter’s role.
“It’s disappointing to not be able to continue playing,” Woll said. “But I think the real positive is that (Hildeby) has been playing great for us, and I think the team has been playing well. Really tight games that are going either way. So I’m just looking forward to being back.”
Woll also offered high praise to Artur Akhtyamov, who is serving as Hildeby’s backup.
“From the first time I saw him, I thought he was sick,” Woll said of Akhtyamov. “He’s a good goalie, man, you watch him out there. I don’t know, the Russians are feeding their guys something different, he’s great. So it’s been fun out there with him, super laid back guy who’s always smiling.”
“Not bad. Tomorrow, we’ll know. Hopefully, he can get on the ice and see how he feels, and we’ll go from there,” Berube said of Ekman-Larsson.
Anthony Stolarz isn’t close to returning to action from an upper-body injury that he sustained during a November 11 game against the Boston Bruins.
“I wouldn’t go there, but he’s not going to be on the ice anytime soon,” Berube said, when asked if Stolarz suffered a season-ending injury.
Marshall Rifai is closer to returning to action, after undergoing wrist surgery in September. Rifai skated in a regular black practice jersey on Friday, and could be a potential option for the Leafs with several injuries to their defence corps.
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Toronto Marlies forward Michael Pezzetta has been suspended for three games, for an illegal check to the head of an opponent, the American Hockey League announced Saturday.
Pezzetta skated across the ice and connected with a shot to the head of Laval Rocket defenceman Marc Del Gaizo. Del Gaizo took a minute to get up from the hit, and did not return to the contest with an undisclosed injury. Pezzetta immediately entered a fight with Laval’s Florian Xhekaj after the hit on Del Gaizo.
Marlies forwards Rhett Parsons and Cedric Pare were issued five-minute majors for fighting, and game misconducts for secondary altercations, but did not receive supplementary discipline from the league.
Here is the play in question:
The AHL has suspended Toronto’s Michael Pezzetta (3 games) and Laval’s Alex Belzile (3 games), Laurent Dauphin (3 games), Joshua Roy (3 games) and Samuel Blais (1 game) as a consequence of this incident@InsideAHLHockey https://t.co/7RQUTlGyVe
— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) December 13, 2025
Laval’s Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin and Joshua Roy were all issued three-game suspensions for their roles in the ensuing scrum. Sammy Blais was suspended one game for leaving the bench. Blais played eight games for the Maple Leafs this season, recording a goal and four points, before he was claimed off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens on November 27.
Pezzetta was placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs on October 5 but went unclaimed. The 27-year-old recorded three assists in 17 games with the Marlies this season. He is eligible to return on December 26, when the Marlies square off against the Belleville Senators.
Toronto signed Pezzetta to a two-year deal worth $788K per season. Pezzetta did not record a point in 25 games with the Canadiens last season, and the Maple Leafs were effectively betting on his stellar defensive metrics translating in a fourth line role.
“I loved my time there. The organization’s first class and the boys were always great,” Pezzetta said of his tenure with the Canadiens’ organization, on July 2. “ Pretty much grew up there in pro hockey, and have nothing but good things to say about them. Definitely be weird come home opener time and starting the season playing against all those guys and having to try to run them all through the glass, but it’ll be fun and there’s no hard feelings.”
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Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson cited poor puck management as a key factor in the team’s collapse in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers.
A nearly three-minute stretch of game split between the second and third period saw the Leafs lose control of the game in the blink of an eye with neutral zone turnovers, odd-man rushes against, and poor reads around the net. After being up 2-1 at one point, they allowed five unanswered to make it a 6-2 deficit before a Steven Lorentz goal in stoppage time made the final score a little more palpable.
“I don’t know, we were just not taking care of the puck,” Ekman-Larsson said to reporters after the game. “ Turning the puck over and obviously not playing hard enough in front of our net. That’s what happened in the last games in the third.”
The passive play in the third period of Saturday’s game was eerily similar to what transpired on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, with the main difference being that the Leafs only allowed one goal that counted two nights prior. Instead of dictating the pace of play and putting the pressure on the opposition, they instead allowed the Oilers to put it in cruise control before the third period was two minutes old.
By the time Zach Hyman scored the sixth tally of the night, Dennis Hildeby was mercifully pulled from the contest in favour of Artur Akhtyamov. But in Ekman-Larsson’s eye, this loss does not fall on the shoulders of the towering goaltender.
“ Yeah, I think there was some goals that we probably want to do a better job in front of him for sure,” he said. “ We win as a team and lose as a team, so we need to start to get better.”
Ekman-Larsson says that it starts with working hard to own the puck and supporting one another in maintaining it. But at the end of the day, he feels that it boils down to execution, and things won’t improve until they make good on their chances when they do get the puck. They will have a few days to sit on the loss before they wrap up the home stand on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“ I think we take the bad and learn. Obviously, we did some good things in the first and second, I felt like as well,” he said. “ We gotta keep in mind that we’re doing some good stuff as well, but obviously that third period is not good enough. We gotta do something about that.”
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Welcome back to another edition of around the NHL, after one of the craziest weeks of transactions in recent memory. The Vancouver Canucks weren’t interested in losing Quinn Hughes for nothing after next season, and decided to trade him to the Minnesota Wild. Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas decided to cash in on Tristan Jarry’s recent hot streak, and now has some options to get creative ahead of this season’s trade deadline.
There’s plenty on deck, here’s the very latest from around the NHL.
Anaheim Ducks could move struggling Ryan Strome
The Anaheim Ducks are one of the NHL’s surprises this year, as they’ve exceeded expectations posting a 19-12-1 record through 32 games. The Ducks sit second in the Pacific Division and have been doing so with a number of players struggling to produce this season, including centre Ryan Strome.
Strome has dressed in just 14 games this season, scoring one goal and adding four assists, for five points. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Strome’s becoming a prime trade candidate to keep an eye one.
“Ryan Strome, I think that one’s obvious; the team got hot when he was still hurt and everybody kinda lined up their spots; it was harder to find his way back into it.”
The 32-year-old Strome is signed through next season at $5 million AAV. He doesn’t have any trade protection on his contract and can be moved at will. The veteran forward has spent the past three seasons in Anaheim, and is coming off a 41-point campaign. As far as potential destinations go, the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils are two teams who are in the market for help down the middle.
Stuart Skinner not likely in Penguins’ long-term plans
Stuart Skinner didn’t request a trade out of Edmonton, but it seemed like if the perfect deal came around the Oilers were going to pounce, and Skinner would be open to it. Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman brought Jarry back to his roots, meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins may have other plans with their new goaltender.
With the Penguins having a young talented duo in Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov, Skinner could become an asset for Dubas to dangle ahead of the trade deadline, regardless if the Penguins are in a playoff spot or not. Dubas has been trying to re-tool on the fly and make his roster younger, and with a thin goalie market, Skinner has the experience several contenders will be looking to add.
Skinner’s a pending free agent and carries just a $2.6 million cap hit. He doesn’t have any trade protection, and doesn’t have much say in what Dubas winds up doing. As far as destinations go, injuries could change everything, but it feels like the Vegas Golden Knights will be circling, even with Carter Hart in the mix. The Tampa Bay Lightning love to surprise with bold trades and could see Skinner as the perfect backup. A wildcard team could be the Utah Mammoth, who are trying to make some noise this season and could use some more Stanley Cup playoff experience.
One thing’s for sure, don’t expect to see a contract extension announced in Pittsburgh anytime soon.
Quick hits from around the NHL:
- Quinn Hughes made it clear a few weeks ago that he was not going to re-sign in Vancouver, and the Canucks management team went to work. They received six offers for the former Norris Trophy winner, including from the Wild, Red Wings, Hurricanes, Sabres, Rangers, and Devils, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
- Hughes made his Wild debut on Sunday night and was sensational. Minnesota beat the Boston Bruins 6-2. Hughes played 26:55, scored a goal, and had three shots on net.
- Wild GM Bill Guerin feels Hughes will enjoy his time in Minnesota and is of course interested in re-signing him. Hughes’ agent informed all teams interested in acquiring him that an extension is not guaranteed, regardless of where he ended up.
- Vancouver’s new trio of Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, and Liam Ohgren all made their Canucks debut in New Jersey on Sunday, defeating the Devils 2-1. Buium scored the winner and finished the night with a goal, and an assist, playing close to 20 minutes. Rossi and Ohgren were both held pointless.
- The Los Angeles Kings are rumoured to be listening to trade offers on centre Phillip Danault, and the Canadiens could be in the market for a reunion with the two-way, struggling centre. Danault is under contract through next season at $5.5 million, and has produced just five points in 30 games, all assists.
- An interesting save the date, as Team Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey will be announced on New Year’s Eve.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs may be getting a pivotal piece of their defensive corps back, as Chris Tanev returned to the ice for the Maple Leafs on Monday morning.
Tanev was seen skating in a regular jersey at practice, which indicates that he’s been cleared to resume contact at practice and in games. Despite this, Tanev won’t play against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday and wouldn’t commit to a firm date for his return.
The soon-to-be 36-year-old defenceman has been out of the lineup since he collided with Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov on Nov. 1. It was an awkward hit that ultimately proved to be more serious than initially expected, and the Leafs have been hurting without his steady presence on the back end. Head coach Craig Berube mentioned last week that Tanev was seeking a second opinion on his injury.
In other news, the flu bug appears to be making its way through the Maple Leafs dressing room. William Nylander and Dakota Joshua were both game-time decisions for Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, with the former playing despite clearly not being healthy and the latter missing the game altogether. Both Nylander and Joshua were present for practice on Monday, but forward Matias Maccelli seems to be the latest victim of the illness. Maccelli hasn’t played to begin with since Nov. 28 after a slew of scratches.
While much was made of Tanev’s age and durability when the Maple Leafs initially signed him, he had a relatively injury-free 2024-25 season with the team. He played in 75 regular season games for them and all 13 of their playoff games, putting up three goals and 18 points in those 75 games. He had one goal and two assists in their playoff run.
The return and absence of certain players combined with a lacklustre third period effort against the Oilers has seen some changes throughout the Leafs lineup. Nylander is now on the top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, with Joshua returning to his third line role alongside Nicolas Roy and Max Domi, who was bumped from the top line. The fact that Rielly is skating with Simon Benoit likely indicates that Tanev was just getting reps in at practice and won’t be ready for action this week.
The Maple Leafs host the Blackhawks on Tuesday night as they look to snap a two-game losing skid.
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The pitchforks had never been hotter by the time second intermission rolled around at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night. On a night where iconic Toronto Maple Leafs play-by-play caller Joe Bowen was set to be honoured for his 44-year career with the team, which will come to a close following the 2025-26 season, the Leafs brought their most pathetic effort to the table of the season.
Facing a Chicago Blackhawks team without superstar Connor Bedard, the Leafs went down 2-0 (could have been 3-0 if not for a disallowed goal) and looked like they had no life whatsoever. Chicago was stopping them in the neutral zone with the same ease of taking candy from a baby and they were generating absolutely nothing in the offensive zone. Auston Matthews, at one point in the early stage of the third period, had 12 seconds of time with the puck in the offensive zone. Craig Berube was heated and caught on camera screaming at his bench more than once, and even after Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored halfway through the third to cut the deficit to one, the Leafs continued to struggle to generate anything.
And then the Blackhawks took a penalty with four minutes left. And then Auston Matthews scored to tie the game. And then Dakota Joshua scored to take the lead eight seconds later.
What else can you do besides acknowledge the fact that this was objectively the funniest possible outcome of this game. On a day where Joe Bowen, who has been to hell and back with this team and has sat through nearly all of the good, the bad, and the ugly to come with it, the Maple Leafs delivered a win that had their fans seething for about 90% of it. It’s tremendously fitting, no?
In the end, there is no way that Craig Berube will be happy with the process that led to this win, but at least they picked up two points for Joe.
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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made a few changes to his lineup during Friday’s practice. Whether it will ultimately be enough for a major change is an entirely different matter.
Calle Jarnkrok was placed on the fourth line, alongside Max Domi and Scott Laughton via lines posted by David Alter of The Hockey News. Jarnkrok has recorded four goals in 21 games, but hasn’t scored since a November 1 contest against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Matias Maccelli joined Lorentz among the extras. Berube previously indicated that he wants to get Maccelli into a game sometime soon, as the forward has been a healthy scratch for the entire month of December.
Philippe Myers was re-inserted into the lineup, alongside Morgan Rielly. Henry Thrun and Chris Tanev skated among the extras. Myers has recorded one assist in 14 games.
Joseph Woll is the projected starter for Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators. Woll has recorded a 5-3-1 record with a .927 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average this season.
Toronto is coming off an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals, where the power play could not convert during five opportunities. Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Wiliam Nylander remained on the top line, after Berube said their performance wasn’t close to good enough against the Capitals. Matthews and Nylander both did not record a shot at 5-on-5 in one of the most listless performances of their shared tenures with the club.
“The power play has actually been getting better, but tonight it got awful in my opinion,” Berube said after Thursday’s game. “I thought the other unit did some good things, they had a couple of opportunities and just misfired, didn’t go in, had some good chances. But, our top unit didn’t execute, didn’t win any battles then they needed to, just couldn’t make plays.”
Maple Leafs’ projected lineup vs. Predators
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
Nick Robertson-John Tavares-Easton Cowan
Dakota Joshua-Nicolas Roy-Bobby McMann
Max Domi-Scott Laughton-Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly-Philippe Myers
Jake McCabe-Troy Stecher
Simon Benoit-Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Joseph Woll (projected starter)
Dennis Hildeby
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