Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesMaple Leafs make defensive roster move ahead of matchup vs. the Red Wings
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a defensive move on Sunday ahead of their game vs. Detroit as they have demoted Henry Thrun to the Toronto Marlies.
With the Maple Leafs figuring out their roster situation after the holiday break, they are at least starting things off slowly.
They have some roster members coming back soon from injury, and the team has too many bodies right now on the backend so needed to make a move. Which is why they decided to demote Henry Thrun on Sunday:
Thrun was sent back to the Marlies after a four-game stint with the Maple Leafs, where he had zero points and a minus-1 in 14:52 TOI.
He was acquired this past summer for Ryan Reaves and was expected to give the Maple Leafs a lot more youth and insurance on the back end; something that was a great move given they have had a slew of injuries to names like Chris Tanev, Dakota Mermis and Brandon Carlo.
There's no other roster moves that have come so it's likely that Thrun is just an extra body that doesn't need to be used right now, as the team still has Simon Benoit as a depth defender, with Carlo potentially on the return shortly.
Carlo was seen skating with the team after foot surgery and seemed to be moving well, and though there's no indication of a return date, it does seem positive for the defender.
For his career, Thrun has 25 points in 123 games since being drafted 101st overall by Anaheim in 2019; he is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.