Paul Day-to-Day, Joshua Still Uncertain: Toronto's Depth Thins Before the Opener

Five days out from Montreal, the Leafs are carrying two more question marks than they'd like. Nick Paul is day-to-day after getting hurt in Thursday's preseason finale, and Dakota Joshua remains uncertain for opening night with a core injury — the same Joshua who was skating with the Marlies group earlier this week rather than the main camp body. Neither is a star, but that's somewhat the point.

The front office spent the summer deliberately rebuilding the forward corps. Paul was signed to fill out the left wing depth, a position that was already thin coming out of last season's collapse. Joshua was part of the same thinking — bodies who could hold a role while the bigger questions around Matthews, Tanev, and Domi sorted themselves out. Now two of those depth pieces are unavailable, and the roster Toronto is trimming toward opening night has less margin than the one management envisioned in July.

The Leafs have cut to 14 forwards and eight defensemen in the NHL mix, which is a near-opening-night group with not much room to absorb attrition. Steven Lorentz was placed on waivers Wednesday, further thinning the forward options. Left wing, already flagged as a genuine positional concern, is where the pressure is most acute right now.

None of this is catastrophic on its own. Day-to-day is not week-to-week, and camps always produce a few of these. But Toronto opened training camp in September with five players already sidelined, and the injury list hasn't exactly shortened since. The offseason rebuild was supposed to add stability. Right now it's just adding names to the injury report.