Yesterday, the Maple Leafs had a full practice and ran the same lines from Tuesday’s game with one small exception.

With Auston Matthews taking the day off for a maintenance day, Travis Boyd skated as a placeholder and Kenny Agostino moved into the fourth line.

Now today, with an optional skate, it seems that Agostino will play in place of Boyd. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess. Agostino has been an excellent top-line forward on the Marlies for two years now, hitting close to a point per game.  This is his Maple Leaf debut.

Joseph Woll, who played his last game one year ago today, has been sent to the Marlies as of yesterday, which will allow Michael Hutchinson to be returned to the Taxi Squad as soon as Jack Campbell is ready. Hutchinson has been on the NHL roster under the “Emergency Loan” rules since February 8, and has played in five games total this season, all since that date. The waiver rules as I read them don’t apply the 29 day exemption limit for Emergency Recalls, so I believe he is waiver exempt still.

To fit Wayne Simmonds back on the roster when he’s fully ready to return, that Taxi Squad will need to hold another player, so someone else will be returned to the Marlies. It’s entirely possible the Timothy Liljegren experiment happened now because the squad had a free space.

No other lineup changes are expected, so the waiting game is on for the returning health and cap space manoeuvres to get the band fully back together.