The Toronto Maple Leafs opened camp Thursday with the news that Simon Benoit is day-to-day with back spasms. The 25-year-old had three goals, seven assists, 60 PIMs, 82 SOG and a -29 plus/minus in 78 games played with Anaheim in 2022-23. Benoit signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs in the offseason and will hope to be back soon as he makes a push to make their opening night roster.
Murray was 14-8-2 with a .903 SV% and 3.01 GAA in his first season in Toronto in 2022-23 but will now miss a large portion of the 2023-24 season as he is set to undergo a significant surgery (undisclosed) and will remain on LTIR. The 29-year-old goaltender has had his career hampered by injuries the last few seasons but will hope to be back to improve on his career 146-86-24 record, alongside his 2.79 GAA and .910 SV% in 272 games played.
Muzzin was only able to play in four games in 2022-23 with the Maple Leafs and picked up an assist and eight SOG across that span before missing the majority of the season due to a Cervical Spine injury. He is expected to spend the entire 2023-24 season on the long-term injured reserve for the final year of his contract. The 34-year-old defensemen is currently sitting on 69 goals, 294 points, and 399 PIMs across 683 career games played.
Benoit played his first full NHL season in 2023, posting three goals with seven assists (10 points) in 78 games. The 6-foot-3, 203 lbs. blueliner is known more for his rugged defensive play, blocking 128 shots and laying 216 hits for the Ducks. Given the Maple Leafs' depth, Benoit will likely serve as an extra defenseman or head to the AHL.
Cowan was Toronto's 2023 1st round pick (28th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday with the Maple Leafs. The 18-year-old centre is fresh off a 20 goal, 53 point, 47 PIM, and +10 plus/minus season across 68 games in 2022-23 with the London Knights (OHL). He is expected to spend the 2023-24 season back with London.
Abruzzese had two assists, two SOG, and a +1 plus/minus through a short two-game showing with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way extension worth $1.55 million ($775,000 AAV). The 24-year-old centre was Toronto's 2019 4th round draft pick (124th overall) and has a goal, two assists, and two PIMs through 11 career NHL games.
Murray was 14-8-2 with a .903 SV% and a 3.01 GAA in 2022-23 with Toronto and has been placed on the Long-Term Injured-Reserve to start the 2023-24 season due to an undisclosed injury. The 29-year-old was acquired during the 2022-23 offseason for a third-round pick (2023) and a seventh-round pick (2024) after Ottawa retained 25% of his salary. Toronto has declared they do not have a length or public description of the exact injury for the time being.
Rifai had four goals, 12 assists, 118 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus in his first season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) in 2022-23 and has now signed a two-year, entry-level contract worth $775,000 AAV. The 25-year-old defenseman has yet to make his NHL debut after joining the Marlies as an undrafted free agent in 2022-23 after completing four years at Harvard (NCAA).
Domi had 20 goals, 36 assists, 179 SOG, 82 PIMs and a -15 plus/minus through 80 games with both Chicago and Dallas in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year deal worth $3 Million with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 28-year-old centre will follow in the footsteps of his father who played 777 games for the Maple Leafs and picked up 196 points (84G/112A) and 2265 PIMs. Max has picked up 121 goals and 370 points in 581 career NHL games with six different teams.
Stolarz was 5-6-0 with a .899 SV% and 3.73 GAA through 19 games with Anaheim in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Florida Panthers. The 29-year-old goaltender was a second-round pick in 2012 (45th overall) and has a career record of 27-24-7 with a 2.93 GAA and .912 SV% throughout 81 NHL games.
Reaves is the most feared grinder in the NHL, who finished with 15 points (5G / 10A) with 43 PIMS and 196 hits in 73 games with the Rangers and Wild last season. Reaves will skate on the Maple Leafs fourth line and will skate under 10 minutes per game.
Ekman-Larsson had two goals and 20 assists (22 points) in 54 games with the Canucks last season before being bought out this summer. With Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour expected to miss a portion of the early part of next season, Ekman-Larsson provides some veteran depth on the blueline.
Mermis spent most of the 2023 season in the AHL, but appeared in two NHL games with the Wild. The 29-year-old blue liner had 26 points (5G / 21A) in 63 AHL games and has four points (1G / 3A) in 27 career NHL games with the Coyotes, Devils and Wild.
Holmberg had five goals, 13 points, 27 SOG, and 18 PIMs through 37 games with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a wo-year, $1.6 Million extension ($800,000 AAV). The 24-year-old was Toronto's 2018 sixth round pick (156th overall) and made his NHL debut as a rookie last season.
Kampf has proven to be an effective shutdown, bottom-6 centre in Toronto, but has only tallied 53 points (18G / 35A) in 164 games over the last two seasons.
Ekman-Larsson carried an $8.25M cap hit over the next four seasons but will now cost them $2.127 million over the next eight seasons. However, his cap hit in 2024 will be just $146,667 per CapFriendly.com. Ekman-Larsson finished the 2023 season with just 22 points (2G / 20A) in 54 games.
Hakanpaa played until Dallas was eliminated from the 2022-23 playoffs, picking up a goal and two points across 15 playoff games played but will now have off-season knee surgery and is considered out indefinitely. The 31-year-old is coming off his first career complete 82 game season, where he picked up six goals, 10 assists, 86 SOG, 60 PIMs and a +18 plus/minus.
Hakanpaa has missed the Stars' previous three games due to a lower-body injury but was a full participant in practice ahead of Game 3 and will play in Game 3 vs. Vegas according to head coach Pete Debour. The 31-year-old stay-at-home defensemen has a goal, two points, nine SOG, 16 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 11 games so far in the playoffs this year.
