Rinat Valiev loaned back to Marlies

Well, that was fast. Today, the Leafs announced probably their most “meh” story of the year.

Without getting into a game, Rinat Valiev has been sent back to the Marlies.

Called up earlier in the week, Valiev was likely an insurance callup with no real shot of getting into the lineup barring an injury.

Whether this means Morgan Rielly – or even Nikita Zaitsev is back in the lineup after the all-star break is yet to be seen, but it appears the Leafs had no interest in keeping him around if he wasn’t going to play.