Maple Leafs make 2 emergency call ups, both defensemen.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have just made a significant roster move, but all the talk now is about what is not being reported by the team. 

First, according to an official announcement from the Maple Leafs organization the team has called up defenseman Timothy Liljegren as well as defenseman Matt Marincin up from the American Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies to join the Maple Leafs main roster. While fans of course will be very excited to learn that 20 year old Timothy Liljegren is finally getting a shot on the Maple Leafs main roster the reason behind the move may be a real cause for concern here. 

Liljegren has played extremely well for the Marlies this season with 2 goals and 11 assists for a total of 13 points through just 24 games played in the regular season, but the real reason behind this call up today may have a lot more to do with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie than it does with Timothy Liljegren. Barrie suffered an injury over the weekend and although initial x-rays on his injury came back negative today's call up may indicate that the injury to Barrie is worse than was initially believed. Although that is only speculation on my part at this time I am not the only one connecting the potential dots here, Toronto Maple Leafs beat reporter Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun is reporting that it is "likely" that the Barrie injury is worse than we thought.

Barrie was injured on Saturday when the Leafs faced off against Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers when he blocked a shot with his foot. Oilers forward Gaetan Haas had a pretty good wind up when he fired off the puck and it struck Barrie in the front of his skate where there is very little padding or protection from such an impact. It was clear immediately that he was in pain and although he tried to skate during a commercial break a little later in the period, he was never able to return to the ice after blocking the shot from Haas.

The Leafs have not officially confirmed Barrie's status at this time so stay tuned for more details in that regard as we will be updating you when they become available.