Josh Leivo loaned to Toronto Marlies in anticipation of All-Star Weekend

Photo Credit: Christian Bonin/TSGPhoto.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that they have sent Josh Leivo to the Toronto Marlies on a loan basis.

The move isn’t a massive shocker. The Leafs don’t play again until Tuesday, and while Leivo has been a useful enough insurance forward, he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to play since being called up on January 11th, drawing into the lineup for less than fifty minutes spread over four games in the past two and a half weeks. 

In that time, Leivo has yet to pick up his first point of the season. Leivo has also been called up in short bursts over the past two seasons, scoring one goal in both of his respective seven and nine-game stints. In that span, he’s put up positive possession numbers, though the small sample and easier minutes probably has a bit of an influence on that.

With all of this considered, Leivo heads down to get some extra playing time in. The Marlies play in Grand Rapids tomorrow and face Binghamton at home on Saturday, which gives him a chance to continue to build on his career-best 30 point in 35 game pace that he’s had throughout this season. The loan also makes him eligible to play in the AHL All-Star festivities on Sunday (Skills Competition) and Monday (The Game).

As it stands, it appears to be very likely that all of Toronto’s named representatives will attend the game, including the not-yet-returned William Nylander. The most recent revision of the rosters by the league came on Tuesday, and while eight players had been swapped out, all of Leivo, Nylander, TJ Brennan, and Sheldon Keefe remained on the North Division roster.

It’s also worth considering that Leivo’s absence from the Leafs roster saves them a few thousand dollars on the salary cap; a drop in the bucket, but something that could make the difference if they take on a salary dump in order to make a sale at the deadline.

Leivo’s potential schedule until the Leafs return from the break is as follows:

The Leafs return to ice against Boston on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.