With the injury to Peter Holland, and the four game suspension to Nazem Kadri it seemed like only a matter of time before the Leafs made a recall from the Marlies. And while the prospect of double shifting Zack Sill might have seemed preferable to tank nation, the NHLPA has strict rules about purposely playing a man short, so today the Leafs made their move.

Carrick has been a decent foot soldier for the Marlies this season playing in all situations, and has put up 25 points in 50 games. He has been held pointless in the ten games he’s played with the Leafs, but has seen his ice time limited in favour of budding superstars like Trevor Smith.

Given the bottom six nature of Carrick’s game it’s interesting that he’s been recalled over a guy like Greg McKegg, and may be telling of what the organization presently thinks of McKegg’s career projection. It will also be interesting seeing where Carrick will slot in tonight, as you can reasonably make a case that he is more talented than Trevor Smith or Zack Sill, or at the very least it’s worth seeing what he can do with more than the 5 minutes a night Carrick’s been averaging in the NHL.

With Holland likely to miss at least one more game, Carrick will probably stick around for Saturday’s game as well, hopefully helping the organization decide on what they see in him beyond this season. 

Given where we’re at in the season, caring about how Sam Carrick plays tonight might be one of the best reasons to tune into the game, so enjoy.