The Toronto Maple Leafs have endured a number of injuries to key personnel this season, with center John Tavares, wingers Mitch Marner, Andreas Johnsson, Ilya Mikheyev, and defenseman Jake Muzzin missing significant, but the club received what has to be considered their biggest blow on Monday, as it was revealed that blueliner Morgan Rielly suffered a broken foot in an 8-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.
Rielly underwent a CT scan on Monday afternoon according to a press release from the club, which confirmed the injury that occurred in the first period, but the 25-year-old returned in the second and led the Leafs with 21:03 on the night.
It is expected that Rielly will be out a minimum of eight weeks and he has been placed on injured reserve.
The club is already missing Muzzin (who has been out since December 27), who is not expected to be back before the NHL All-Star break and will have to endure the absence of Rielly, who leads Toronto defensemen with 27 points (3 goals, 24 assists) in 46 games and the Leafs in average time-on-ice with 24:15 per game.
Earlier in the day, the Leafs recalled defenseman Rasmus Sandin from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Sandin, 19, had two assists for the Leafs in six games earlier in the season, and has 15 points (2 goals, 13 assists) in 21 AHL games, and was named the top defenseman at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic after scoring 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) for Sweden in seven games.
This places the Leafs in an extremely difficult position in an area that was already their Achilles heel. Without two of their top-four defensemen, the lack of quality depth on the blueline becomes even more of an issue, and the fact that both Rielly and Muzzin's injuries are not season-ending does not allow for GM Kyle Dubas to replace them.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reports that the Leafs will not be able to use the playoff salary cap loophole with Rielly, since he is expected to be back in March. Both Rielly and Muzzin can be placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), but Toronto has to keep enough space available to be cap compliant when both blueliners return before the playoffs.
The Leafs begin a three-game home stand against New Jersey on Tuesday.
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