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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – The Maple Leafs are coming off an emphatic 7-2 season-opening win over the Winnipeg Jets, but that’s not stopping Mike Babcock from making changes.

The Toronto head coach is breaking out the blender early, altering his lineup for Saturday’s home opener against the New York Rangers.

“If you just base things on [the fact] you won, so you should never change your lineup, the problem is then I don’t think you’re being fair to our group and developing the best group you can,” Babcock said Friday after practice. “So those decisions can always be second-guessed on a win/loss basis, but to me we’re trying to build our program and do the right thing and evaluate our players and get better, so that’s why we’re doing it.”

That process began Thursday, when the Leafs placed defenceman Martin Marincin on waivers. The 25-year-old made the opening-night roster over Swedish newcomer Calle Rosen, but was a healthy scratch against the Jets as the seventh blueliner.

By Friday, Marincin had cleared waivers and been assigned to the Toronto Marlies, while Rosen had been recalled from the AHL. He was slotted in as the sixth defenceman at practice, pushing Andreas Borgman, who just made his NHL debut on Wednesday, down to the extra spot.

Babcock confirmed Rosen will start in place of Borgman on Saturday, and that Dominic Moore, also a healthy scratch on Wednesday, will play at fourth-line centre instead of Eric Fehr.

Moore was drafted 95th overall by the Rangers in 2000, playing 87 games with the club between 2003 and 2006, and then returning to skate in 239 games between 2013 and 2016.

“I didn’t know the difference between the two. I decided we were going to play Borgman [in Winnipeg] and Rosen here,” Babcock said. “I did the same with Fehr. Fehr is a Winnipeg kid, Moore played in New York. In the end, that’s how I made my decision. I don’t think that’s scientific enough to keep anyone out of the lineup.”

Babcock offered no insight as to how long he'd continue shuffling players in and out (“we’ll figure it out”).

“We’re in a process where Borgman and Rosen haven’t played in the NHL for a long time. We don’t want either one of them sitting around, so it they’re not playing they won’t be here,” Babcock said.

Rosen, who tallied two assists in five exhibition games, is pleased that his opportunity to experience real NHL action didn’t take long to come following his demotion.

“That’s what I was hoping for. It’s fun to be back,” he said. “To play in the NHL is what every kid dreams about. If I’m able to play tomorrow, that would be another step in the right direction in my career. I just feel I have to keep doing what I was doing in the preseason, keep working every day.”

Rosen, who signed as a free agent last spring out of the Swedish Hockey League, will step in next to Connor Carrick. That puts two good skaters together against a Rangers’ team that has speed built into every phase of the game.

While the Leafs top-four defencemen are set in their pairings, Carrick could see a lot of movement next to him.

“I think it’s my job to talk to them out there, and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed a little bit of the leadership in that,” he said. “I know my first couple games with [Jake] Gardiner, he was vocal on the blueline, [telling me] ‘go’ or ‘stay out.' It was helpful for my game. This is definitely an opportunity in terms of getting a look at both [Rosen and Borgman] and management and coaches can see who’s game I make better, who’s making my game better, and then make a decision for the team going forward that way.”

Toronto risked losing Marincin to another NHL club by placing him on waivers when they could have just recalled Rosen for Saturday’s game and sent Borgman, who they didn’t appear to plan on playing anyway, to the AHL without needing waivers. It isn’t a ringing endorsement for Marincin’s standing with the franchise, but Babcock didn't rule out the possibility of a return if either first-year defender needs more ice time elsewhere.

One bubble player who seemingly won’t get the same opportunity to assert himself in the lineup any time soon is Josh Leivo.

Babcock acknowledged the Leafs are perhaps deeper now than they’ve been in years, and nowhere is that more true than at Leivo’s winger position. Just like last season, an injury is his best chance of getting in.