The joy of writing this before Marner’s return to Toronto is that I can just celebrate the fact that I can pretend that the discourse over Marner’s return is over. I’m sure there are people still fighting the good fight about whatever happened on Friday night, but on early Friday I’m choosing to focus on the relief that comes from, besides the unlikely event of these two teams meeting in the Stanley Cup Final, this story being dead for the season. (And I’m sure most Toronto Maple Leafs fans would be willing to put up with some Marner talk if it meant the Leafs were in the Stanley Cup Finals.)

With the Marner visit in the past it is back to the playoff push and injuries as the chief concerns for the Maple Leafs for the next couple of weeks until Olympic time.

Here are some non-Marner thoughts:

With the return of Anthony Stolarz to the Maple Leafs roster the team has taken another step towards normalcy. The Woll/Stolarz tandem rides again, but based on what has been seen so far this season, it is Woll that the team is counting on as “the guy.”

Dennis Hildeby’s 13 starts and 19 appearances with a save percentage of .910 needs to be noted as a big part of what has helped keep the Leafs afloat this season and has been far better than what Stolarz has achieved when he has played this season. Of course, the veteran is absolutely deserving of the reset opportunity and Hildeby at 24 and waivers exempt is likely to be returned to the Marlies for the Olympic break if Sweden doesn’t experience further injury woes calling on his service there.

That break is still seven games away and with Joseph Woll on pace to match or exceed the busiest month of his career (depending on how much Stolarz plays), the Leafs might want Hildeby around to give Woll a couple of full nights off.

Toronto has the opportunity to put Stolarz in net and keep Hildeby on the bench and allow Woll to completely rest for a couple of nights and maybe even skip a practice or two. Given the fragile state of the Leafs goaltenders, this light load management that potentially has their top three netminders at optimal health heading into the Olympic break seems ideal, and Hildeby will have his chance to get in some work with the Marlies once the NHL season is paused.

The Leafs also have a benefit in playing Stolarz before the trade deadline and then getting him a ton of rest.

Hildeby is just about ready to step into the backup role behind Woll on the Leafs, assuming they are comfortable in Akhtyamov in the third spot or intend to fill that spot externally. As such, Stolarz and his affordable contract and history of delivering above average results in moderation would make him an attractive target in a thin goaltending market. The Leafs wouldn’t be wrong to see if they can deal from a position of strength here and playing Stolarz and hopefully removing his current .884 save percentage from the memories of GM’s might be an important part of upgrading the Leafs too.

Could Matias Maccelli be the next Maple Leafs Olympian?

Back in late November when Maccelli seemed to be permanently scratched and it looked like Brad Treliving was hunting for a trade partner, the idea of Maccelli as a Leaf was a stretch, now he probably deserves some consideration for the Olympics.

Maccelli came back in December and put up four points in six games, not mind blowing, but very much in line with the numbers expected of him. January has been a continuation of that success with six points in the first 11 games of the month as well. The 25 year old is absolutely living up to what the Leafs wanted him to be for them and given that Team Finland is not Team Canada, that may also be enough to get him on the Olympic injury replacement radar as well.

Maccelli is 20th amongst active Finns for career scoring, and the 14th highest scoring Finn this season (12th amongst forwards) with his numbers improving the past couple of months. While he might not have the defensive game as players behind him in the scoring race like Joel Armia or Jesperi Kotkaniemi, they are a country lighter on playmakers than 200 foot players and that could potentially be an in for him.

Finland isn’t dealing with any current long term injuries that represent an open door for Maccelli, but it seems foolish to think that the current rosters of any team aren’t going to experience at least one or two changes as the remaining NHL games are played.

There would be a real benefit to the Maccelli and the Maple Leafs from this experience. Potentially, Matias comes back as a more confident player and ready to continue playing meaningful hockey and the Maple Leafs will need everyone at the best for the final push of the season.

As I write this the Maple Leafs, have seven games remaining before the Olympic break and roster freeze (six remaining when you read this.) Given that the outcome against Vegas won’t be enough to put the Maple Leafs into a Wild Card spot it is at least safe to say we are talking about the remaining six games being important to what Brad Treliving and this reports discuss over the Olympic break rather than attempting to make a move in the remaining time before the NHL is paused.

If the Leafs were a playoff team, it would be easy to talk about the benefits of bringing someone in before the Olympics. There would be a three week window for the player (and their family) to get settled into a new city and get at least a little comfortable. There is a chance to meet with some new teammates and study some video, and get used to the facilities and hit the ground running when hockey starts up again. If the Leafs were confidently in the playoffs it would be very easy to say acting sooner has its benefits, as it generally always does in any season.

In contrast, if the Leafs were all the way out of the playoffs, it sure would be nice to start selling to a bunch of motivated buyers who might not have the full market to choose from and could potentially be paying premium prices for Bobby McMann or Scott Laughton or whatever other player the Leafs might be getting calls on. The sellers market erodes as the deadline approaches and acting early as a seller makes sense too.

The bubble really is the worst, but given that Brad Treliving tends to play small ball as a buyer at the trade deadline, the Leafs aren’t missing out on Artemi Panarin or Dougie Hamilton by waiting, they are just avoiding giving up assets they shouldn’t for Luke Schenn. And, while it isn’t likely that the Leafs will look firmly in the playoffs by February 4th or 100% out of the mix, it will allow Brad Treliving, Craig Berube, and Keith Pelley to sit down and have a frank discussion about what this team is capable of in the remaining games, who they want from this group in the lineup next year, and in Keith Pelley’s case, decide how comfortable he is with the group he has executing the remainder of the season. Having a three week window to plan and negotiate around the league is a luxury the Leafs need and why they will likely be quiet on the trade front until March.

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