Leafs practice notes: Roy fully participates, Matthews, Knies join skills session, ‘high-minute players’ off the ice

It’s been a turbulent time for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference as of Monday. Toronto resumed practicing at the Ford Performance Centre on Monday, with two days between its next contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

Toronto’s ‘high-minute’ players did not participate in the formal session, taking part in an off-ice workout Monday morning. Jake McCabe was among the players who did not participate in Monday’s practice. McCabe suffered an upper-body injury during Saturday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens and did not return to the contest. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube did not provide an update on the severity of McCabe’s injury following Saturday’s game.

Nicolas Roy was a full participant for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury. It was Roy’s first action since playing in a November 15 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks. Roy has missed the Leafs’ past three games as a result of the injury. The 28-year-old recorded a goal and four points in 19 games this season.

Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies took part in a skills and development session. Matthews skated throughout last week, but hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury against the Boston Bruins on November 11. Knies also skated last week, but hasn’t played since November 15 due to a lingering lower-body injury.

Chris Tanev and Marshall Rifai both skated ahead of practice. Tanev hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 2 and is out indefinitely. The veteran defenceman resumed skating on November 8. Rifai underwent wrist surgery in September, after suffering an injury during the preseason against the Montreal Canadiens.

It’s been a brutal stretch for the Maple Leafs, sporting a 9-10-3 record ahead of Wednesday’s game. Berube has struggled to find the ideal line combinations amid several injuries. Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving provided Berube with a vote of confidence at the quarterly press conference on November 18, but this assurance may be temporary as the losses continue to pile up.