Marner, Sandin week-to-week, Spezza awaiting suspension; who will step in for the Leafs?

Some tough decisions are imminent for the Toronto Maple Leafs with Rasmus Sandin injured, Jason Spezza likely to be suspended and Mitch Marner looking like he'll miss some additional time.

On Tuesday morning, TSN's Darren Dreger suggested that Marner could be in line to sit out another week or two, which could create a problem for the Leafs, who are 0-1-1 since Marner has come out of the lineup.

It goes without saying that Marner is an impact player for the Leafs, but it wouldn't be reaching to suggest that Sandin has been the biggest surprise for the Leafs this season. Now, with Sandin on the sidelines for at least the next 2-3 weeks, it creates a pretty big hole for the Buds on the back end.

Meanwhile, Spezza, who will almost certainly be suspended 5 games after being offered an in-person hearing for kneeing Winnipeg's Neal Pionk, has become somewhat of an ageless wonder for the Blue and White this season, on pace to exceed the 20-goal mark at 38 years of age.

Marner and Sandin have officially been placed on injured reserve on Tuesday morning and the team has announced a trio of AHL call-ups.

On the back end, it's expected that Travis Dermott will be the 3rd LD next to Timothy Liljegren. As far as who has been called up to act as the team's 7th defenseman, Alex Biega and Kristians Rubins have both been recalled by the Leafs.

With Marner sidelined after a collision with teammate Jake Muzzin during practice last week, the Leafs have essentially mixed and matched up top, utilizing both Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza on the right side with Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting.

There were a number of interesting options for the Buds up front, starting with playmaker Josh Ho-Sang, but the one issue there is that Ho-Sang is on an AHL contract and would need to be signed to an NHL contract before he could join the Leafs.

Another detail to note is that once Ho-Sang signs an NHL deal, he would require waivers in order to be sent back down to the Marlies - so the move did carry some risk, which explains the Leafs' decision to call up undrafted forward Alex Steeves.

Steeves played the last 3 seasons with Notre Dame in the NCAA, and signed with the Leafs as as UFA this summer.

The 21-year-old has produced a point per game with the Marlies (12 points in 12 games). Steeves has been excellent for the Marlies this season and does not require waivers to be sent back down.

The Leafs play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday evening at 7:00pm ET.

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