The Toronto Maple Leafs already lost veteran Chris Tanev to the injured reserve following a 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, and now they might be down another. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said following Thursday’s practice that defenceman Morgan Rielly is questionable for Friday’s visit with the Buffalo Sabres.
Craig Berube says Morgan Rielly is dealing with an injury that he picked up on Tuesday
“I don’t know yet for tomorrow”@TSN_Sports
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 23, 2025
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It’s unknown when exactly Rielly injured himself, as the Maple Leafs were forced to finish Tuesday’s game with five defenceman after Tanev left, but the fact that he’s still technically a game-time decision for this weekend’s opener probably hints that the injury isn’t severe enough to see him land on the injured reserve.
With the Maple Leafs down both Tanev and Rielly, they recalled Dakota Mermis from the American Hockey League (AHL)’s Toronto Marlies in a corresponding move to Tanev’s IL placement. In practice, the both the forward lines and defensive pairs saw an extreme shakeup, with the latter coming as a result of poor play and the former due to injury. The updated defensive pairs see Jake McCabe and Brandon Carlo on the top pair, with Mermis skating alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit splitting the bottom pair with Philippe Myers.
Leafs lines at practice
McMann – Matthews – Nylander
Knies – Tavares – Maccelli
Joshua – Roy – Cowan
Lorentz – Domi – Jarnkrok
Blais, RobertsonMcCabe – Carlo
Mermis* – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – MyersStolarz
Primeau*Rielly absent but skated earlier@TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/Th8VitwA52
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 23, 2025
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Meanwhile, the forward lines see Max Domi centreing the fourth line, Bobby McMann and William Nylander on the top line with Auston Matthews, and Easton Cowan back in the lineup with Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua, among some other changes.
The Maple Leafs have a home-and-home incoming on Friday and Saturday, kicking things off with a trip to Buffalo on Friday before hosting the Sabres on Saturday night. After starting the season 3-3-1, the Maple Leafs are hoping to cut the annual October blues early and establish some good habits in hopes that they can capitalize on slow starts from teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sabres have been wreaking havoc on the Atlantic Division so far, with wins against the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Florida Panthers, and the Maple Leafs will look to put a stop to that.
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