Leafs make a pair of roster moves, use the cap savings to activate Ryan O'Reilly from LTIR
The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against the Bruins at TD Garden in Boston. It's a rather exciting night for the Buds, as they are set to welcome back veteran center Ryan O'Reilly from LTIR, after O'Reilly missed a month due to a broken finger.
O'Reilly's fortune, in this case, is someone else's misfortune, as the Leafs had to assign two forwards to the AHL's Toronto Marlies to remain cap compliant. Per CapFriendly, the Leafs have sent Nick Abruzzese and Wayne Simmonds down.
Simmonds has spent most of this season in the press box for the Leafs, despite being the type of player that they have lacked in the lineup for a lot of the year. Now, with the likes of Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe on the roster, the Buds have plenty of guys who throw the body and will drop the gloves if need be, reducing the need to keep Simmonds in the lineup.
Abruzzese's stay with the Leafs was a short one this time around, as the young NCAA product suited up for just 2 games this week, recording an assist in each contest. He'll head back down and jump right into the Marlies' playoff roster, while it's more likely that Simmonds will not report to the AHL.
With O'Reilly's return now a reality, I'd imagine we'll see the playoff roster begin to take shape over the final week and a half of the season.
