Maple Leafs’ John Tavares Placed on IR With Lower-Body Injury
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their leading offensive producers moving forward, as John Tavares was placed on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, the club announced on Thursday.
Tavares is considered week-to-week as he recovers from the ailment suffered during Wednesday’s practice. During a power-play drill, the 34-year-old got tangled up in the corner with defenceman Chris Tanev, causing him to fall awkwardly to the ice. He left the session and didn’t return.
Head coach Craig Berube couldn’t provide an update after practice, saying the veteran skater was still being evaluated for a right leg injury, which will now sideline him for at least the next three games.
The Mississauga, ON native must miss a minimum of seven days after landing on IR, meaning he’ll be unavailable for Thursday’s contest against the New Jersey Devils. The earliest he could return is when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 22.
With Tavares out of commission, the Maple Leafs recalled forward Fraser Minten from the AHL Marlies ahead of Thursday’s showdown, which marks the return of former head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Minten isn’t expected to suit up versus the Devils after staying on the ice for extra work following the optional skate. Connor Dewar, who practiced as an extra skater on Wednesday, wasn’t on the ice Thursday morning and is slated to dress against New Jersey.
In his second NHL season, Minten has appeared in 11 games with the Maple Leafs, scoring two goals and four points, averaging 12:47 per night. He also owns five goals and 10 points across 16 games with the Marlies this season.
Losing Tavares is a massive blow for Toronto, which has dropped three straight entering Thursday’s contest, being outscored 13-4 during that span. Max Domi will centre the second line in his absence, per Berube.
There was plenty of outside noise surrounding Tavares entering this season, including the removal of his captaincy and the fact that he was beginning the final season of his seven-year, $77-million contract. But he’s flourished despite those potential distractions, looking rejuvenated in his seventh campaign with the Buds.
In 44 games, the 6-foot-1 centre has potted 20 goals and 42 points, sitting second on the team in goals, third in points and fourth in power-play points with nine.
“He’s been a great player for us. I mean, I think it started [with] the captaincy switch and how he handled that, and just came in and played extremely well for us,” Berube told reporters, including The Hockey News, following Wednesday’s practice. “Done a lot of good things for us. And, he’s a great teammate, great leader, and been a fabulous player for a long time.”
It’ll be the first extended stretch that Tavares has missed due to injury in several seasons. Since 2020-21, he’s played in all but eight games, missing only a pair of contests during the previous two campaigns.
This season, the first overall selection from 2009 had participated in 44 out of a possible 45 games, excluding Thursday’s meeting against the Devils.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Quintin Soloviev. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.