The Toronto Maple Leafs’ revolving door continues on the blueline as defencemen Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis have been recalled from the AHL with Nick Blankenburg and Marshall Rifai being placed on the injured reserve Friday.
Blankenburg and Rifai joined veteran Chris Tanev on injured reserve. Tanev remains week-to-week with an upper-body injury and Saturday will mark the two-week mark since he got hurt.
He will travel with the team as the Maple Leafs embark on their Western Canada and Seattle road trip, starting Saturday in Edmonton.
Blankenburg exited Thursday’s 5-4 win over the New York Rangers with an undisclosed injury. He played 11:27 minutes before departing.
The 28-year-old has one goal in six games this season with Toronto while averaging 13:05 of ice time.
Rifai is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, which appeared to be suffered in Thursday’s gameday skate. He last played on Tuesday in the 6-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he scored a goal in 19:14 of ice time.
Toronto dodged an injury scare in Tuesday’s game as blueliner Jake McCabe left the game following a high-stick but was able to play Thursday.
McWard, 25, has three assists in five games with the Marlies this season.
Mermis has one assist in seven AHL games this season. In 2025-26, the 32-year-old had one goal in 11 games with the Maple Leafs. He also helped the Marlies capture the AHL’s Calder Cup.
The Maple Leafs parted with some defensive depth on the eve of the season, sending Emil Andrae to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their deal for Kirill Marchenko before he ever played a game with the franchise.
At forward, centre John Tavares also remains week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will not join the Maple Leafs on their road trip.
Leafs defence pairings at Friday’s practice:
McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Stecher
Mermis - Ekman-Larsson
McWard