The Toronto Marlies, American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, re-signed two players to new deals and signed five additional players to contracts, the team announced on Friday morning.

Ken Appelby and Sam Stevens were both brought back as AHL depth on one-year deals, while forward Matt Copponi, defenceman Matt Anderson, defenceman Ben Meehan, forward Ross Mitton were all signed to one-year contracts. Forward Sawyer Boulton was signed to a two-year contract.

Appelby, 31, spent the majority of last season playing for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, occasionally subbing in as a veteran backup behind the young Marlies tandem of Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov. He finished the season with a .906 save percentage (SV%) and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.92. Stevens, a 26-year-old forward, had more or less the same story, with 43 points in 47 games for the Cyclones in 2025-26 and four total games played for the Marlies. All of the new incoming players spent last season across the ECHL.

It marks the second-straight busy day for the farm team, after the news that Steve Sullivan was named Marlies head coach on Thursday after spending the second half of the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Former Leaf and longtime NHL defenceman Mark Giordano was named an assistant for the Marlies.

It was also a busy day for the organization as a whole, with the Maple Leafs announcing the departures of director of amateur scouting Mark Leach, senior advisor of player personnel Dave Morrison, and assistant general manager Hayley Wickenheiser from the organization. Current Marlies general manager Ryan Hardy was one of the few hires from the previous regime that was spared his job amidst the cleaning of house on Thursday. He will continue to oversee the Marlies and provide assistant general manager duties for John Chayka.

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