Leafs send Frederik Gauthier back to Marlies

After acquiring Brian Boyle less than 24 hours ago, the Leafs have sent Frederik Gauthier back to the Marlies. 

Gauthier, who was the Leafs first round pick in 2013, has suited up for 21 games with the Leafs and recorded three points in the process. The Quebec native averaged 8:33 of ice time on a Leafs fourth line that had been preforming poorly as of late. 

The Leafs found the fourth line centre they needed, meaning Gauthier’s heading back to the minors. In the Boyle deal, the Leafs sent Byron Froese, the Marlies’ leading scorer, to Tampa Bay. At first glance, having Gauthier back will be of great help to the Marlies. But with Gauthier showing he isn’t a terrific scorer at the AHL level ( 6 points in 26 games this year), he won’t be of much help in the area the Marlies need the most help in–offense. 

AHL all-star’s Brendan Leipsic and Kasperi Kapanen have been sidelined with injuries for a month and with Froese off to Syracuse, the teams current top three scorers are elsewhere.