Last night, Kyle Dubas was attending the Minnesota-Ohio game, which was the last game for Matthew Knies’ regular season. After this is the Conference Championship tournaments, then the NCAA Championship tournament.

And boy, he would have liked what he saw. Knies had a very... eventful game. It didn’t start great, with two penalties totaling 7 PIMs, including a 5 minute major that happened about 2 seconds after his teammate committed a separate 5 minute major. His team was down 2-0 after the ensuing 5 minute long powerplay — 2 minutes at 4 on 3, then 3 minutes of 5 on 3.

But then Knies did everything to make up for that. He had 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist), 8 shots on net, still playing physical and setting up some chances for his teammates.

Knies’ season will likely end late in that NCAA tournament run, with the games starting March 23rd and ending April 8th.

Of course, Knies wasn’t the only Leafs’ prospect in action last night. Some of them had good games of their own...

Ryan Tverberg had a two goal game, showing off the two main elements of his offensive game. A good shot, and his aggressive speed.

Brandon Lisowsky also had a two point game, showing off his playmaking and his shot.

And his teammate and newly-fellow Leafs’ prospect also joined in the fun!

Jordie Benn on waivers | by Cathy

Will Benn clear? Defencemen are highly sought after, and you never know as teams looking to make trades need to add players to play their remaining games. The Leafs have a lot of depth, and clearly Kyle Dubas wants to keep them, but also wants roster flexibility heading towards Friday’s deadline.

We’ll know tomorrow at 2 PM if he is still a Leaf or not.

Sheldon Keefe on Auston Matthews’ reduced goal-scoring this season | by MLHS

He has done a good job. The thing that I like the best, of course, is that throughout the pucks not going his way and not falling to the same degree as the high standard he set last season, he hasn’t cheated the game at all. He has remained diligent in his defensive play.

For a lot of offensive players, especially those that have expectations of themselves and expectations and pressures from outside, if it doesn’t go your way, there is a tendency to make that your priority, start cheating and get on the wrong side of the puck. All of a sudden, the team game starts to slip.

Top six shuffle, Sandin back for real, and a minor league move: Leafs Practice Notes | by TLN

Matt Murray was in the Leafs full practice today. That seems like good news as it will be nice to provide Samsonov some relief when they can although I don’t think at this point this is much debate over it being Samsonov’s net to lose. The Leafs can activate Murray from the LTIR on March 1st, meaning we could see him in one of the Alberta games, or the Leafs could give Woll one last kick at the can before sending him down on March 3rd to ensure he’s eligible for the AHL playoffs as well.

Why the Maple Leafs are still looking for a defenceman before the deadline | by The Athletic

As Thomas Drance outlines here, the Canucks are trying to get creative with a Schenn trade, and bring in more assets as part of that transaction. We’re not sure that’s going to work for the Leafs, given they’re light on picks, although perhaps there could be some depth players added to the mix.

Someone like Nils Hoglander, for example, could be an interesting piece for Toronto given his low salary and possible upside.

You know what the Leafs don’t need help with right now? Goalies... unlike Edmonton, amirite?

Now for a slew of trades, and/or trade rumours, and/or trade maneuvering news.

GOALIE GOAL ALERT!

From The Branches