With injured center Auston Matthews slowly progressing, but not ready to return to the lineup, and illness striking their blueline, the Toronto Maple Leafs called up winger Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and brought up defenseman Calle Rosen on emergency recall Tuesday.
Johnsson won the SHL Rookie of the Year in 2014, scored 20 goals last season (his first in North America) and has made significant strides in his sophomore year with the Marlies, leading the club with 54 points (26 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games, good for fourth in AHL scoring.
MORE: "We have to stay motivated" -- Rielly, Maple Leafs prep for stretch run
On Tuesday, the 23-year-old winger skated with former Marlies linemate Kasperi Kapanen and veteran center Tomas Plekanec and also took Matthews spot on the Leafs second power play unit, which has been ineffective without the presence of the injured leading goal scorer. After practice, Leafs coach Mike Babcock indicated Johnsson will make his NHL debut on Wednesday when the Dallas Stars come to town.
“(Johnsson’s) had a good year. We haven’t had a lot of opportunity to give him a chance.” explained Babcock. “We’re going to have to sit someone else to do it, but we have an opportunity with three games here this week to have a look at him and therefore if we have a need for him at playoff time, we have an understanding of what he can do.”
Andreas Johnsson at Leafs practice ... No. 18 on his helmet pic.twitter.com/kYOoJzAfuP
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 13, 2018
Rosen signed as a free agent from Sweden last summer and was brought up with both Nikita Zaitsev and rookie Travis Dermott absent from practice due to illness.
Zaitsev was a late scratch prior to Toronto’s 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday and Dermott was absent from the Leafs practice at the MasterCard Centre on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Matthews continues to make progress from the Grade-2 shoulder separation suffered against the New York Islanders on Feb. 22, skating prior to team workouts and practicing with a red non-contact jersey. Babcock already ruled out Matthews for the Leafs next game at home against Dallas.
“I'm feeling fine. Felt better every day.” Matthews said. “It's nice to get on the ice with the guys and take reps in that circumstance instead of just skating by yourself so you get your timing back, which is a big key in returning to play."
Lots of extra work after practice today for Auston Matthews: pic.twitter.com/mUKQxOKxyr
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) March 13, 2018
This is the third significant injury for Matthews, who missed four games in early November with a sore back and six games in mid-December with a concussion, something which bothers the Calder Trophy winner.
“It’s obviously frustrating, there’s no question about that.” Matthews said. “Everything happens for a reason. I’m just going to stick with it and do my best to get healthy and doing a good job staying in shape and with my conditioning.”
MORE: Will Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews return in time for Sabres-Maple Leafs clash this week?
There continues to be an air of caution regarding the Leafs top center getting back in the lineup. With the Leafs seven points in back of the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division and holding a 12-point lead on the Florida Panthers for third, it is probable that the Leafs medical staff will hold Matthews out of the second of back-to-back games in Buffalo on Thursday and possibly even Saturday’s match against the Montreal Canadiens.
"He's going in the right direction, feeling good" Babcock said, before adding, "He'll be over-ready before he gets back in."