The Maple Leafs will welcome back a pair of key forwards for their game tonight against Edmonton. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News that center John Tavares and winger Matthew Knies will suit up against the Oilers. After sending Jacob Quillan down yesterday, Toronto needed to make one more roster move to add both players to the active roster. Per the NHL’s media site, that move was returning winger Nikita Grebenkin to AHL Toronto.
Tavares missed the last couple of weeks due to a lower-body injury after getting injured in practice when his skate collided with teammate Chris Tanev’s. Despite the short-term setback, it has been a solid season for the 34-year-old pending unrestricted free agent. Tavares has 20 goals and 22 assists through 44 games this season while winning nearly 57% of his faceoffs and will return to anchoring Toronto’s second line.
As for Knies, he only missed a week and a half due to an upper-body injury that he clarified was a shoulder issue. The sophomore has already passed his goal total from a year ago (15) as he has 18 goals and 13 assists through 47 games. Knies has spent a lot of time on the top line which has him well-positioned heading into restricted free agency this summer and is expected to line up on that unit again tonight.
Grebenkin, meanwhile, was recalled last weekend when Connor Dewar landed on IR. However, while he got into seven games with the big club earlier in the season, he didn’t see any game action this time around. The rookie has eight goals and eight assists in 29 games with the Marlies in his first season of action in North America.