The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), the team announced on Tuesday.

Groulx, 26, is a French-born Canadian forward who signed a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs in the previous offseason. He was originally a second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2018 NHL Draft, and despite getting a cup of coffee in the league with the Ducks over three seasons, he was never able to find the production to keep him in the big leagues. His longest run was in 2023-24, when he appeared in 45 games for the Ducks and tallied two assists. In a total of 65 NHL games, he has one goal and five points.

Groulx has been far and away the Marlies’ most productive player, sharing that title with prospect Jacob Quillan. With Quillan having been called up to the Maple Leafs on a number of occasions, Groulx has the team lead for scoring by a wide margin with 27 goals and 50 points in 54 games.

With the Maple Leafs far out of the playoff race, Groulx joining them at this time makes sense. The Leafs are down three regular forwards in Nicolas Roy, Bobby McMann, and Scott Laughton, having traded all three of them at Friday’s deadline under the guise of selling and recouping some assets, so there’s going to be room for prospects and AHLers to get a look down the stretch. While Groulx is on the cusp of not being considered a prospect anymore, at 26 years old, it’s equally important of an opportunity for him to prove that he belongs in the NHL, even if there’s not much to play for from a team standpoint given where they are in the standings.

The Maple Leafs are on the road in Montreal on Tuesday night. It’s unclear at the time of filing whether Groulx will play against the Canadiens.