This post is now a liveblog of this series of incomprehensible roster moves.

December 21:

Neither player played, and Marincin receives the same salary no matter where he is. So far the sum total of the benefit here is that Brooks got some extra money and a trip to New York where there likely wasn’t any time to spend it.

The Marlies and the Leafs both play tonight.

December 19:

There is a totally ordinary method used to convert emergency recalls to regular recalls that could have been employed for these two players. There has been no explanation why that wasn’t used unless there was a desire to have these two players at practices with the Marlies and the Leafs.

No cap savings or any other advantaged is gained by these moves.

Sheldon Keefe repeatedly reported and re-emphasized that Trevor Moore went through concussion protocol after an incident in practice, but he is fine, and they recalled Brooks (while they had 12 other healthy forwards) just in case. Moore remains on LTIR.

It appears for now that Timothy Liljegren didn’t bounce back up to the NHL with the other two.

December 18:

The emergency seems to have ended, at least for some:

There’s no word yet if Martin Marincin will now stay on the NHL roster as a regular recall. There is no emergency, so he cannot remain on the roster without being designated a regular recall.

And there we have it, no idea at all why anyone other than Marincin were ever recalled.

December 17:

So, to sum up, a player who didn’t play in the last game with this same roster of forwards is now not going to play tonight, and while that was fine last time, now it’s an emergency recall.

Let’s just get right to the CBA:

Emergency Recall.

(i) A Player on Loan to a club of any league affiliated with the League may be Recalled from such Loan under emergency conditions at any time for the duration of the emergency only following which he must be returned promptly to the club from which he was Recalled.

(ii) Emergency conditions shall be established when the playing strength of the Loaning Club, by reason of incapacitating injury or illness or by League suspension to its Players is reduced below the level of two (2) goalkeepers, six (6) defensemen and twelve (12) forwards. Proof of the existence of the emergency conditions including the incapacity shall be furnished to the Commissioner of the League upon request made by him.

Article 13.12 (m)

The Maple Leafs, at the time two defencemen were recalled from the Marlies on an emergency basis, had five ostensibly healthy defenders and one in Tyson Barrie, who left the previous game after blocking a shot. Five plus two is seven. But, fine, they chose two to recall, and they have the cap space, this isn’t circumvention or going over the roster limits, here; this is just odd.

Tyson Barrie will play tonight. Martin Marincin and Timothy Liljregren are not slated to, and have not been returned to the Marlies as of this hour, and yet they are still apparently emergency recalls.

Now, with 12 fully healthy forwards in addition to Trevor Moore on the roster, the Leafs have recalled Adam Brooks while not activating Moore off of LTIR. They have the cap space and roster space to add Brooks, and no circumvention seems to be occurring. In much the same way no actual emergency is occurring either.

The only possible benefit to recalling players under the emergency rules instead of the regular recall rules is that their regular recall waiver exemption counters are not affected:

Waiver exemption and the Maple Leafs call-up options

That only applies to Martin Marincin, however, since both Liljegren and Brooks are waivers exempt because of their age and years in pro hockey. They are paid in the same way, and as far as I can ascertain, there is nothing gained by adding AHLers the team isn’t going to play to the press box for a home game and calling it an emergency.

I don’t like not knowing things, but for now, I am assuming the press box had gotten a little dull. At least this gives the coach a chance to get to know these players that ... he’s coached for years.

It remains to be seen if Adam Brooks will take Moore’s roster spot in the actual game tonight. If nothing else, all of this further cements the training camp in December feel of the current Maple Leafs.

Cap Space Shuffle