An already thin blue line in Toronto just took another hit as the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they’d be placing defenseman Morgan Rielly on long-term injured reserve with a knee injury.
Initial reports suggest that Rielly may have suffered a grade 1 or 2 MCL injury in Monday’s OT loss to the New York Islanders. As a result, Toronto will be without its top defender for at least the next 10 games.
The 28 year old collided with Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri in the 3rd period and was in visible discomfort as he left the ice. The blue liner would head down the tunnel shortly thereafter and would not return to the game.
In 20 contests so far this season, Rielly had posted 0G and 16A, with a -1 rating. The former 5th overall draft pick joins a suddenly crowded injured reserve for Toronto, a list that already includes defensemen Carl Dahlstrom, Jake Muzzin, and TJ Brodie, along with goaltender Ilya Samsonov and left winger Rodion Amirov.
In a corresponding move, the Leafs have recalled defenders Mac Hollowell and Victor Mete from the Marlies. Toronto is next in action Wednesday against the red hot New Jersey Devils.
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.