The shot block heard ’round the whiteboard.One injury to one fourth-liner will tweak three forward units of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ projected roster just a couple of days before the puck drops for real.When fourth-line centre Scott Laughton absorbed a puck with his foot during Thursday’s pre-season dress rehearsal against Detroit, the simple fix would be to substitute long-serving 4C David Kämpf in Laughton’s spot and call it a day.But Kämpf makes too much ($2.4 million) and doesn’t impress his coach enough. And so, over the weekend, while the Blue Jays were busy whipping the Yankees across the street, the Maple Leafs dragged out the blender.Joining Kämpf on a Marlies assignment are fellow veteran depth options Michael Pezzetta, Henry Thrun, Dakota Mermis, and Matt Benning — all of whom cleared waivers to remain available down the road.The Laughton injury, though, spurred Berube to shift Max Domi off No. 1 centre Auston Matthews’ right wing and have him centre a more offensively minded third line with forechecker Dakota Joshua and sniper Nick Robertson — who had another stellar camp but originally appeared destined for more popcorn in the press box.“I’m not new to this. I know the game. I know the situation,” Robertson said Monday. “I got another training camp under my belt, another season from last year under my belt. So just gotta take from that, learn, and honestly just play every game with desperation. Play with the urgency. Playing hard, being an absolute competitor — that’s when I’m at my best.”Onto Domi’s vacated wing slides the newly acquired Matias Maccelli, a waterbug playmaker who will be charged with finding Matthews’ tape as often as possible.And now the fourth line looks poised for plenty of D-zone starts and shutdown minutes, as it’s composed of a trio of hardworking, dependable skaters: Nicolas Roy centring Steven Lorentz and a refreshed Calle Järnkrok.Then there’s newly acquired, bargain-priced waiver pickup Sammy Blais ($775,000), arriving eager to get minutes from a coach with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 2019.That leaves 20-year-old prospect Easton Cowan as the odd man out.Cowan will join the Toronto Marlies no problem and get his professional feet wet in a top-six role. Should an opportunity arise midseason, Cowan can be recalled and play as many as nine games without burning a year off his entry-level contract.“Does he help us right now? What’s best for him? You know, young kid, but we like him,” Berube said.The coach liked Cowan most alongside Laughton. He looked his age against the Red Wings at times last week, getting pushed off a couple pucks and committing a costly turnover he was quick to regret. Cowan’s failure to make the cut should not deter his commitment. Toronto’s bottom six is stacked with experience.A tough call Monday afternoon had the Leafs placing Jacob Quillan ($875,000 cap hit) on the roster instead of Cowan, for cap purposes; Quillan has not been practising with the big club.“I’ve seen young players that were skilled like Cowan, and they started on a bottom-six role, but eventually they touched the power play a bit, and they moved their way up the lineup, and they’re first-line players now,” Berube noted. “There’s other ways, too. Send guys down. They get work, and they get a lot of ice time, and they touch a lot more of the game. So, I don’t know if there’s a right call on that. It just depends on the player, to be honest with you.”Who backs up?The curveball that is Joseph Woll’s sudden departure from training camp due to personal reasons stirred weeks-long curiosity over who would back up newly extended No. 1 Anthony Stolarz in the pipes.The return of James Reimer to Toronto on a tryout summoned nostalgia but resulted in one pre-season loss and no nameplate in the NHL dressing room. He was released Monday afternoon.Treliving scooped a backup 11 years younger, Cayden Primeau, off waivers from Carolina Monday, which will allow him to send waivers-exempt prospect Dennis Hildeby down to keep developing in the AHL.As the waiting game on Woll, whose return is not imminent, continues, Primeau (13-24-7, .884, $775,000 cap hit) will be given a shot to stick on his third NHL team, as Toronto faces three back-to-backs in October.This is a patchwork solution, and Stolarz is gearing up for his busiest season yet.Now that the dust has settled, here is Toronto’s projected cap-compliant roster to start 2025-26:Knies – Matthews – MaccelliMcMann – Tavares – NylanderJoshua – Domi – RobertsonLorentz – Roy – JärnkrokExtras: Quillan, BlaisIR: LaughtonRielly – CarloMcCabe – TanevEkman-Larsson – Benoit Extra: MyersStolarzPrimeauNon-roster: Woll