Maple Leafs Send Pezzetta, Thrun Down to AHL Marlies

The Toronto Maple Leafs returned winger Michael Pezzetta and defenseman Henry Thrun to the AHL's Toronto Marlies on Sunday morning, trimming their active roster to 22 players ahead of a matinee at Scotiabank Arena and a 6:00 p.m. CT home game against the New York Islanders.

Pezzetta's stay lasted five days and two shifts worth keeping. Called up March 12, he introduced himself to Leafs fans by dropping the gloves with Ducks forward Jeffrey Viel one second into his debut against Anaheim. The theatrics didn't carry over into production: the 28-year-old career enforcer averaged just 5:06 of ice time across back-to-back appearances, racked up nine penalty minutes and a -1 rating, and went pointless while logging one shot on goal and six hits. He sat as a healthy scratch for Sunday's win over Minnesota before the Leafs sent him back down. Pezzetta, who signed a two-year league-minimum contract with Toronto last summer, now has 202 career NHL appearances.

Thrun's situation was more logistically driven. The 25-year-old puck-moving defenseman received an emergency summons Sunday after Oliver Ekman-Larsson left the team's road trip to return home for the birth of his child. Thrun didn't play. His earlier stint, which began with a December 11 recall ahead of a game against his former team in San Jose, yielded zero points in four NHL contests before veteran Chris Tanev's return to the defensive corps ended that run. Thrun admitted facing the Sharks came with something extra.

"Never done that before. That was obviously a unique thing," he said. "Just fired up. You want to compete against anyone, but especially against those guys, a lot of familiar faces. Just trying to help the team win. It was obviously not the result we wanted, but personally, it was a little bit extra gear playing those guys."

Acquired from San Jose last offseason in a one-for-one trade for enforcer Ryan Reaves, Thrun had appeared in a career-high 60 games with the Sharks in 2024-25. He has posted 20 points on four goals and 16 assists across 42 AHL games with the Marlies this season alongside a -4 rating. He was originally a fourth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, traded to San Jose before playing a game for them.

The roster math behind these moves is tight. With Auston Matthews' season over and Ekman-Larsson on paternity leave, the Leafs carry no healthy extras at 22 players. Both Pezzetta and Thrun remain eligible for emergency recall if Toronto risks being shorthanded for tonight's game against the Islanders. The Marlies had an afternoon game scheduled Sunday, giving both players enough time to report back to the NHL roster before the 6:00 p.m. puck drop if needed.