from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

After acquiring Nick Foligno and Riley Nash at the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs have 14 NHL forwards. The number increases to 15 if you include Nick Robertson, who has played in the past two games and not looked out of place.

So where does that leave Joe Thornton, who has no points in the past 14 games and has gone almost two months without a goal?

For most of the year, the 41-year-old has filled an honorary role alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on Toronto’s top line, where no one has minded all that much if he produces or not. But with the playoffs approaching, Thornton has been working his way down in the lineup while Alex Galchenyuk and others move up in the pecking order.

With William Nylander on the COVID protocol list, Thornton found himself skating on a line with John Tavares and Zach Hyman for Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Calgary. But it was a strictly temporary move.

When Nylander returns, there won’t be a place for Thornton on the top two lines. And there won’t be a spot for Thornton on a third line with Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev once Foligno finishes his quarantine.

That leaves the fourth line. And even there, keeping Thornton around just for the sake of it may not be a luxury the Leafs can afford.

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