The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ season has been plagued by injuries. And with yesterday’s update from head coach Craig Berube, it put the cherry on top.
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The Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Brandon Carlo had a setback in his recovery from the injury he had been dealing with and will “probably require surgery” to fix it. This is not only a huge loss on the team’s blue line, but it also hits even harder when Leafs Nation thinks about the trade that brought him to Toronto.
They also announced that veteran defenseman Chris Tanev is going to remain out but he will “get looked at here soon.” He also mentioned, he did start skating with the club yesterday, which is a good step in the right direction.
Maple Leafs’ Season Defined by Injuries so Far
Last night in the game against the Florida Panthers, the broadcast team mentioned something very interesting. The Maple Leafs have dealt with so many injuries that only three players on their team have played in every game so far this season. The three players are John Tavares, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Bobby McMann. It’s absolutely wild to think just how many players have suited up for the club this season and only three have been healthy enough to play in all 26 of their games.
That stat alone proves just how bad the Maple Leafs have struggled with injuries. They have had 25 players appear in at least one game this season and only three have been healthy for all 26. If the Maple Leafs can overcome some of the injuries that have hurt the team, then they can hopefully return to what everyone within the fan base expected of them and push themselves up the standings. First, they need to handle the adversity and try to stay afloat. They struggled with that at the beginning of the season, but over this past road trip, it looks like they have gelled together more and look like a better team.
Their injury list has gotten smaller over the last week. Now there is just Carlo, Tanev and Anthony Stolarz who remain. Unfortunately, they all look like they are going to be out until at least the New Year, if not longer. It’ll be a challenge for the Maple Leafs, but they have shown that the mentality in the room is the next man up, which has shown with all the players who have stepped in and tried to make an impact.
