Maple Leafs put on work boots during day off

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Forward Adam Brooks played in one game early in January and scored, but sat, while winger Travis Boyd has points in two and then rested Saturday in Edmonton. Sandin has been waiting since the summer playoffs.

“We talk to him as much as we can, provide some variety at practice,” Keefe said. “He’s a bit different than guys on our taxi squad, he’s in all our practices (as the eighth defenceman with either Mikko Lehtonen, Travis Dermott or Zach Bogosian).

“But we’re sensitive that he hasn’t played in a bit. There’s growth to be had there (during the time off). You need patience. He’s not the only one. Around the league, a lot of players want to play. We’ve been healthy on the back end and we’ve had (a new player in Lehtonen) ahead of him.

Other sightings Monday included Joe Thornton in uniform and skating a bit after his fractured rib, and Nick Robertson (knee). Thornton took the chance to participate in filming some on-ice clips for the team’s forthcoming Amazon Prime TV series. Auston Matthews, with goals in his past five games, was also on a separate rink at the Ford Performance Centre with the show crew.