Maple Leafs D Marshall Rifai will not return to tonight’s game (upper body).
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Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai will not return vs. Canadiens with upper-body injury
Photo credit: (Steven Ellis/The Nation Network)
Sep 25, 2025, 21:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 25, 2025, 20:58 EDT
Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Marshall Rifai left Thursday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after suffering an upper-body injury, and did not return.
Rifai recorded a hit and a shot, all of which occurred in the first period, playing 4:35 total. The 27-year-old took a hit from Canadiens forward Joshua Roy along the boards in the first period and did not return.
TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie first reported of Rifai’s injury, suggesting that it might have been his left arm that was bothering him.
Marshall Rifai hasn’t returned for the second period. I wonder if it had to do with this sequence where he took a hit from Joshua Roy
Rifai was off to an exciting start to training camp. He was a wrecking ball in the preseason opener on Sunday against the Ottawa Senators, which included a big hit on Ridly Greig, and he subsequently dropped the gloves with Zack MacEwen.
Rifai was called up several times by the Leafs due to a wave of injuries last year, but did not end up suiting for a game, previously playing in two NHL games with the Maple Leafs during the 2023-24 season. He inked a two-year extension in September 2024, that kicks in for the upcoming season, and his physical style of play has certainly endeared himself to the organization.
Last year, Rifai spent his entire season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, recording 13 points (three goals and 10 assists) in 63 games. He is expected to once again spend the bulk of the year in the AHL and will be a likely call-up option if the Maple Leafs run into injury trouble early in the season.
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