The Toronto Maple Leafs have had their fair share of injuries at the forward position, with Auston Matthews out for games at a time with his injured wrist. Nick Robertson is only now playing more minutes. And, both veterans Joe Thornton (rib injury) and Wayne Simmonds (broken hand) have missed games.
The goalie situation has been a nightmare with starter Frederik Andersen out for a long length of time and backup Jack Campbell also missing a number of games. However, the team’s defense has been fortunate not to have been touched thus far by injuries – until last night.
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In last night’s game, Zach Bogosian lost an edge and went crashing leg first into the boards. The injury looked painful and apparently was. He didn’t return to game action after that accident.
In this edition of Maple Leafs News, I’ll take a look at the team’s injury report to note the players who are currently suffering from injuries.
Item One: Nick Foligno Meets His New Teammates Today: Will He Be Able to Play
When the Maple Leafs traded for Nick Foligno, they were aware that he’s been out with an upper-body injury. However, it was expected that injury would be healed so he could immediately step on the ice with his new team when he was finished with his quarantine upon arriving in Canada.
(Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Today, he was scheduled to meet with his new teammates in Winnipeg. Although I’ve heard no word about his upper-body injury, it’s expected that the injury has healed during his time in quarantine. If that’s the case and he’s in good-enough shape after his time off, look for Foligno to make his Maple Leafs debut against Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Item Two: Zach Bogosian Is Likely to Miss Games After His Injury
As noted at the beginning of this post, when Zach Bogosian went crashing into the boards in the second period, it looked like there was a chance he had injured his ankle badly. However, he jumped up and skated off under his own power. Still, because he didn’t return, it’s clear he didn’t escape without some injury. The Maple Leafs skated with five defensemen for the remainder of the game.
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Bogosian is expected to miss a few games after that injury. The word from Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe is that Bogosian will miss Thursday’s game in Winnipeg and perhaps more. An update is expected later this week. In the meantime, Travis Dermott and perhaps even Martin Marincin will likely get game time on the team’s third-pairing defense.
Item Three: Zach Hyman Will Miss At Least Two Weeks with a Sprained MCL
This isn’t yesterday’s news, but any Maple Leafs’ injury report has to include Zach Hyman. That’s a difficult loss for the team because not only has Hyman scored 15 goals and 18 assists (for 33 points) on the season, but he’s central to much of the team’s success. He absolutely improves any line he plays on with the team.
Still, it could have been worse. Because it was “only” a sprain, it means that Hyman should return to the team before the end of the regular season. That’s better than the news was in 2019, when he needed after-season surgery to repair that same ACL.
Item Four: Scott Sabourin Was Placed on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR)
On Tuesday, Scott Sabourin was placed on LTIR with an undisclosed injury. Sabourin literally fought hard to make the Maple Leafs’ lineup. He made his season’s debut against the Calgary Flames just over a week ago and immediately fought tough-guy Milan Lucic.
Whether the injury is the result of that tussle is unknown, but it might be. Sabourin won’t be able to return from LTIR until May 7 and it’s unlikely fans will see him play again this regular season.
Item Five: Ilya Mikheyev Misses Second Game Against the Canucks
Whatever happened to Ilya Mikheyev during practice made it impossible for him to play against the Canucks last night. Mikheyev, who has that vague “undisclosed injury,” is considered day-to-day; however, the 26-year-old Russian’s status will be re-evaluated prior to Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
In my last post, I made an error about the Maple Leafs’ schedule coming up. The Maple Leafs will play the Jets on Thursday and then again on Saturday. I’m looking forward to watching how coach Keefe integrates newcomer Foligno.
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I’m also hoping to see if Mikheyev and Bogosian can play. Both players have a solid place in this lineup.
The Old Prof (Jim Parsons, Sr.) taught for more than 40 years in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. He’s a Canadian boy, who has two degrees from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate from the University of Texas. He is now retired on Vancouver Island, where he lives with his family. His hobbies include playing with his hockey cards and simply being a sports fan – hockey, the Toronto Raptors, and CFL football (thinks Ricky Ray personifies how a professional athlete should act). He looks forward to sharing his insights about the Toronto Maple Leafs and about how sports engages life more fully. His Twitter address is https://twitter.com/TheOldProf