Leafs Recall Brennan; MacWilliam, McKegg Sent Down

The Leafs made some minor shuffles to their deck Friday, sending Andrew MacWilliam and Greg McKegg back down to the Toronto Marlies while recalling T.J. Brennan on an emergency basis.

Greg McKegg was recalled yesterday on an emergency basis due to injuries and suspension to the likes of Zach Sill, Trevor Smith, Peter Holland, and Nazem Kadri.  He played 11:56 primarily alongside Joffrey Lupul and David Booth.  McKegg has now played 3 games for the Leafs this season after being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  He’s played well for the Marlies, but what role he has with the Leafs in the future, if any, remains unclear.

Andrew MacWilliam was recalled from the Toronto Marlies and played his first 8 games in the NHL over the past three weeks for the Leafs.  He averaged 15:53 of ice-time per game and mustered only 2 shots on goal in his time with the big club, playing in a bottom-pair role.  The 25-year-old is unlikely to have a future with the big club.

T.J. Brennan has been somewhat of an AHL superstar the last handful of seasons for both the Leafs and other organizations.  Still, he’s been unable to establish himself as an everyday NHL defenseman thus far.  Brennan was called up earlier this month and played his first 3 games for the Leafs, averaging 19:05 per game while putting up 7 shots.  The next handful of games could be crucial for him to try and show the Leafs, or other teams, that he belongs in the NHL.

One interesting piece of note about today’s moves is that Brennan was recalled on an emergency basis despite the fact that (at least as far as we can tell) the Leafs had 6 healthy defenseman prior to Andrew MacWilliam being sent down.  Sending one healthy defenseman down so that you can recall another on an emergency basis (thus not burning one of the 4 recalls teams are permitted past the trade deadline) seems like a tiny little loophole in the CBA.  But, that’s the benefit of having someone who understands the salary cap as well as Brandon Pridham does in your front office.