Maple Leafs Shuffle Lineup Again With 2 In, 2 Out, + Call-up

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have won their Friday night matchup with the Calgary Flames (in a shootout), but it was not a pretty affair. The defensive troubles still exist, and head coach Sheldon Keefe is still trying to find the right mix. 

With that, defenseman John Klingberg, who was a scratch from Friday's game (whether it was a "healthy" or "unhealthy" scratch depends on what you believe), is being inserted back into the lineup for Saturday night's game, while another terribly struggling player, Ryan Reaves is scratched for the first time. 

Sheldon Keefe tells reporters that Bobby McMann will draw in for healthy scratch Ryan Reaves (-11) against Canucks tonight and that John Klingberg will return to the lineup, replacing Simon Benoit.

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) November 11, 2023

New GM Brad Treleving invested $5.5M in cap space in Reaves and Klingberg, and to say it hasn't quite worked out to this point, is painfully obvious. 

While Klingberg was a minus-8 in his 13 games, Reaves, playing on the 4th line, has been even more disastrous—a minus-11, while playing only seven minutes per night. 

The Leafs called up Bobby McMann from the Toronto Marlies, where he's put up some decent numbers, with 47 goals and 67 points in 97 games in the last 2+ years in the AHL.

Klingberg, who was held out of Friday's game "dealing with a few injuries", per Keefe, replaces Simon Benoit on the blueline Saturday night vs. the Vancouver Canucks. 

Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports