Why The Maple Leafs Signed Alex Nylander To A One-Year NHL Deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed froward Alex Nylander to a one-year contract at the NHL minimum of $775,000 the club announced on Friday afternoon.

Nylander, who initially signed with Toronto on an AHL-only contract can immediately be placed on the Maple Leafs roster without any restrictions. If Toronto gets to full health at some point and the club is looking to move him back down with the Marlies, he would require waivers. The Leafs made room for Nylander on the roster by placing Matthew Knies on the injured reserve list retroactive to Nov. 20

Knies sustained an upper-body injury in Toronto’s 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights when his head hit the ice hard after a hit from defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

Now that he’s on IR, Knies will be unavailable to the Leafs until Nov. 30 when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at the earliest.

Related: Matthew Knies ‘Improving’ But Will Not Play Against Utah Hockey Club On Sunday, Max Domi May Return And Other Lineup Updates

Before the Leafs signed Nylander, the club practiced with just 11 available forwards on Friday. Auston Matthews (upper body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Max Domi (lower body), David Kampf (lower body) and Calle Jarnkrok (sports hernia) are injured while forward Ryan Reaves continues to serve a five-game suspension for his illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

When Alex Nylander signed, there was always a feeling that if needed the club could sign him and that time came on Friday.

Related: Why the Maple Leafs Signed William Nylander’s Brother Alex to a Contract With the Marlies

The 26-year old has tallied 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 14 games with the Marlies this season. The 6’1”, 205-pound forward has has recorded 49 points (25 goals, 24 assists) across 121 NHL games with Columbus, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Buffalo, along with eight appearances in NHL playoff games.