Surprising Maple Leafs Forward Set to Play First Game Since November Vs. the Hurricanes

The dust has settled after the 4 Nations Face-Off and the regular season is back to business with a slate of games expected for Saturday night. The Maple Leafs are one of those teams and face a very tough Carolina Hurricanes squad.

With the team needing offense, they called up Alex Steeves to try and help them out. The AHL's leading goal-scorer and the Toronto Marlies all-time leading scorer has been on a tear this season, and earned his second call-up.

Well it looks like he'll be suiting up against the Hurricanes too, as he was seen skating during Toronto's optional skate on Saturday morning.

Barring any catastrophes, Steeves will be making his return to NHL action for the first time since Nov. 27.

This season he's played in four games and has registered zero points. In 11 career NHL games, he has one assist and is minus-4.

It's really not surprising to see why Steeves earned himself another call-up.

In 40 games with the Marlies this season, Steeves has 29 goals and 17 assists and has been the team's best player by far, and it seems the team is feeling his absence as the Marlies lost 5-0 to the Syracuse Crunch in their last game.

But his call-up should have been earned a while ago. In his four seasons with the Marlies he has 98 goals and 102 assists in 228 games, and while he hasn't done much in those 11 games, he hasn't gotten much of a shot to shine.

Steeves was a standout player at Notre Dame with 33 goals and 36 assists in 104 games before signing with the Maple Leafs in 2021 where he's been ever since.

It's unknown exactly where Steeves is going to line up but with Toronto's third line lacking some serious offense, they could look to Steeves to anchor the middle alongside Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson potentially.

But head coach Craig Berube was excited for his potential, and had some high praise for the forward ahead of Saturday's game.

The Maple Leafs are surely hoping he can translate his AHL success to the NHL level this time around, as the team needs as much firepower as possible; plus it could help Brad Treliving make a decision on who he ends up trading for too.

Steeves will get a chance to showcase his skills once again as Toronto faces Carolina at home on Saturday night. The game is scheduled to start at 7PM ET.