Leafs demote rookie forward to the AHL's Toronto Marlies, indicating at least one lineup change tonight

The Buds will have at least one lineup change coming, as the club announced on Thursday morning that they have sent rookie Semyon Der-Arguchintsev back to the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

Following Tuesday's game in Dallas, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed that it was very difficult to get a glimpse of Der-Arguchintsev's game, due to the fact that there were such large gaps between his shifts. The Leafs' special teams were heavily used on Tuesday thanks to a higher volume of penalties than normal, meaning the team's 4th line did not play all that much. SDA saw just over 7 minutes of ice time in the game as a result and Keefe had stated following the game that he couldn't really evaluate the rookie forward.

One interesting thing to note, as SI's David Alter points out, is that SDA's demotion puts the Leafs at 22 contracts, which would allow the Leafs to activate injured defenseman T.J. Brodie, who has practiced with his teammates already this week.

Over the weekend, Sheldon Keefe had confirmed that Brodie had not yet been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Kings, so perhaps we should read between the lines here. SDA's demotion appears to point towards a Brodie return tonight.