Toronto Maple Leafs Make Surprising Roster Move

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a surprising roster move on Wednesday as they have sent down forward Pontus Holmberg to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The @MapleLeafs have loaned F Pontus Holmberg to the @TorontoMarlies.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 18, 2023

Holmberg had been out the past few days as he was under the weather and his demotion has certainly caught some off guard. The 23-year-old former sixth-round pick appeared in 28 games for the Maple Leafs, tallying 11 points and often times playing the defensive game of the Leafs forwards.

Holmberg rejoins the Marlies where he's put up four points in nine games earlier this season. There's certainly a chance he could be traded ahead of the March 3 deadline as the Maple Leafs are looking to improve their top-nine and Holmberg's going to draw some interest from other teams based on his performance with the big club this season. 

(We don’t know for sure yet if Holmberg will join Marlies on a portion or all of the trip. Next two games are just down the 401 in Belleville so it could be a chance to get Holmberg some playing time in the immediate future)

— Joshua Kloke (@joshuakloke) January 18, 2023

The Swedish center has all the tools to be a solid third-line center in the future who can chip in with some secondary scoring. We'll see how thing he's down in the minors for as the Maple Leafs continue to try and find the right combination of forwards throughout the second half of this season.

Pontus Holmberg also back on the ice after missing Saturday’s game and yesterday’s practice due to illness @TSN_Edge pic.twitter.com/m1DqXzjCJ2

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 17, 2023

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports