Leafs top prospect held out of game action; is a move pending?

On Saturday Elliotte Friedman reported the Leafs have begun to check the market on available goalies, but that the price is far too high at the moment. The Leafs are hoping that the Christmas break has given Samsonov the opportunity to reset mentally, but if he continues to struggle in his next start, the Leafs look to be ready to make a move internally.

Today, the Toronto Marlies played in their annual Boxing Day game at Scotiabank Arena, but there was a notable absence from their roster. Starting in goal was Luke Cavallin, who was recently recalled from the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers. Backing up Cavallin was Keith Petruzzelli, while breakout prospect Dennis Hildeby was nowhere to be found. There were no report of an injury or illness which means that he is likely being held out for precautionary reasons.

The NHL's roster freeze ends at midnight tonight and with the Leafs in action against the Ottawa Senators tomorrow, it looks like they could be summoning Hildeby to get some NHL action. Hildeby was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft of the Leafs and had been playing professionally in Sweden before making the jump to North America this year. In 13 games with the Marlies, he has posted 2 shutouts to go along with a 7-4-2 record, 2.08GAA and .921 save percentage.

Another possibility, albeit a far more unlikely one, is that the Leafs could be preparing to trade the young Swedish netminder. I don't necessarily think that's something that they would be entertaining at the moment, given Hildeby's exceptional play for the Marlies this season, but stranger things have happened.