Toronto Maple Leafs recall Pontus Holmberg, loan Max Lajoie

The Leaf: Blueprint S9 E2: Roadie

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Thursday they had recalled forward Pontus Holmberg from the Toronto Marlies in the AHL and sent defenseman Max Lajoie on loan in exchange.

Holmberg, 24, has earned a goal and one assist in two games with the Marlies. He did not earn any score or assist in all his seven games with the Mapple Leafs this season. Meanwhile, Lajoie remains scoreless in this AHL season.

The Mapple Leafs (6-5-2) had earlier sent Holmberg on Monday to the Marlies to make room for forward Nick Robertson. Robertson earned one point and two shots-on-goal for the Mapple Leafs during their 3-6 loss in the game against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.

Thirteen games into the season, the Mapple Leafs rank fifth in the NHL’s Atlantic Division, having relegated the Montreal Canadiens (6-5-2) to sixth and the Ottawa Senators (5-7-0) to the eighth spot.

The Mapple Leafs are scheduled to depart to Sweden to participate in the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden alongside the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild and Senators. The Global Series is set to start from November 16 to 19, 2023.

A slow start

Lajoie started slow in the current NHL season without scoring any points, with his plus-minus at -1. The Quebec City native earned his best plus-minus of +2 when playing with the Carolina Hurricanes for five games during the 2021-22 season, while his worst plus-minus was during his tenure with the Ottawa Senators at -25 in the 2018-29 season.

Lajoie only appeared for almost five minutes in the Mapple Leafs’ 4-6 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

The 26-year-old left the Hurricanes after three seasons as a free agent before signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Mapple Leafs in July. He failed to make it to the team during the 2023 training camp, leading to him entering the waivers.

Lajoie joined the Marlies for AHL after leaving his waiver in early October 2023 alongside Simon Benoit, Kyle Clifford, Dylan Gambrell and William Lagesson.