Toronto Maple Leafs' Demote Top Prospect Fraser Minten: A Questionable Call?
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Tuesday morning that they had sent down rookie Fraser Minten back down to the Toronto Marlies.
It was an unfortunate turn of events for Fraser Minten as the Maple Leafs decided to demote the young forward after slowing down from a previous hot start.
The team officially announced via their PR account on X that they had sent him down.
This was later corroborated by several insider sources from around the NHL.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise to Leafs fans, as Minten was doing well even if his production has slowed down since debuting. So could Toronto be making a mistake?
Fraser Minten Is Ready For The Maple Leafs
It was a whirlwind of injuries this season for the Maple Leafs which led to a call up for Minten, ironically who had just returned from an injury that kept him out for the beginning of the season.
It didn't take long for him to make an impact, scoring in his third shift of the game and making a statement at a time where Toronto needed their bottom half to wake up.
NHL Insider Arun Srinivasan believes the demotion is a bad idea for the team given that Minten not only impressed on the ice; earning various promotions in game, but also earned praise from his head coach for his veteran attitude.
Still only 20 years old, Minten showed glimpses of what fans can expect from him in the future. This season he scored two goals and two assists in 11 games, and was pretty much the only call-up to make a difference.
While it's speculated that Minten was sent down possibly due to a cap crunch as Srinivasan alluded to, it's still a surprise.
While Max Domi, Nick Robertson, and Bobby McMann did well on Sunday, the inconsistencies aren't worth gambling on, at least not yet and Minten provided a bit of stability in the bottom half.
Minten will head back to the AHL and run rampant there, but if Toronto runs into any more problems in the bottom six, they should not hesitate to bring him back at a moment's notice.
