Two Forwards Down, Four Days Out, and Toronto Is Still Shopping

The Leafs open against Montreal on Saturday with Dakota Joshua day-to-day from a core injury and Nick Paul also sidelined after going down in the preseason finale. That's two of the offseason's forward additions unavailable, and the left wing depth behind Matthew Knies is thin enough that the team is reportedly in the mix for Columbus winger Kirill Marchenko — a name I wrote about yesterday as a signal of how management reads its own roster.

The situation has compounded quietly. Joshua was skating with the Marlies group last week with his status already uncertain; Paul's injury came in the final preseason game, the worst possible timing. Steven Lorentz was placed on waivers Wednesday, which tells you the team made a decision about who it trusts in that bottom-six, but it doesn't solve the problem above it. The depth chart at left wing runs through Knies, then gets thin fast.

Whether Marchenko or someone else ends up moving before Saturday is an open question. What's not open is that Toronto heads into its first game of a reset season short-handed up front, with the trade market as the only realistic fix before puck drop.