Overview

• At Monday’s practice, Nick Robertson skated with Max Domi and Dakota Joshua on the third line, Nicolas Roy centred Steven Lorentz and Calle Järnkrok on the fourth line, and Easton Cowan rotated as the 13th forward as Craig Berube said no final decision is made.
• Berube publicly vouched that Cowan has shown he is NHL-ready, praising his motor, work rate and hockey IQ after a strong preseason.
• Scott Laughton is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, altering planned combinations, while David Kämpf cleared waivers and was not with the group, further reshaping bottom-six options.
• Cowan is waiver-exempt, giving Toronto the option to shuttle him to the AHL and to try an NHL look without burning a contract year if kept under nine games.
• Robertson strengthened his case with an impactful final preseason outing, and Järnkrok practiced in a regular fourth-line role, keeping the competition tight heading into the Oct. 8 opener.