The Maple Leafs regained some of their previously depleted forward depth on Wednesday, saying Adam Brooks on waivers from Vegas after losing it to Montreal before the start of the regular season.

In 18 regular season games during his first stint with the Leafs, Brooks had four goals and four assists.

Adam Brooks is back in Toronto. 6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/L6ISDYt3vr

— The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) February 16, 2022

Brooks was the victim of a numbers game late in training camp and the Leafs opted to try to sneak him through waivers in order to assign him to the Marlies in the AHL. Having already proven he was capable of playing an important role in the NHL, he was picked up by the rival Montreal Canadiens, but only played four games with the Blue, White and Red before touching the waiver thread in November.

Landing in Vegas this time, Brooks scored twice while averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time in seven games before ending up on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. Presumably, Vegas was forced to waive him because he recovered from that injury and they no longer had room for him on their NHL roster.

In order to facilitate the inclusion of Brooks on their active list, the Leafs have designated the defender Timothy Liljegren at the AHL. Liljegren has established himself as an NHL player this season, so it seems like a temporary move while the Leafs work to clear more salary cap space. Travis Dermott will replace Liljegren in the Leafs roster for now.

The Leafs have made it known that they are looking to move Nick Ritchie and Elliote Friedman reported over the weekend that there was some traction on that front. Shedding Ritchie’s contract would provide the Leafs with additional flexibility as they are unable to bury his entire minor hit cap, allowing them to carry both Brooks and Liljegren on the active roster.

Stay tuned.

(Stats from EliteProspects.com)

(PuckPedia.com contract information)

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