Toronto Maple Leafs: The Joffrey Lupul Situation as Is

This past Sunday, ‘injured’ forward Joffrey Lupul made his feelings towards the Toronto Maple Leafs abundantly, and publicly, known.

Upset with his injured status, Lupul sought to air his grievance against the Toronto Maple Leafs using the most rational avenue available to him. The comments section of his Instagram account

Referring to the Leafs organization, Lupul responded to a fan by commenting,

"Haha, failed physical? They cheat, everyone lets them."

Such a candid and accusatory comment has sparked a firestorm of media coverage on this situation. With how tight-lipped the Leafs organization has been in their handling of Lupul, confirming any speculation surrounding his status has been a fruitless endeavour.

So, while facts are scarce, I decided to delve into of few aspects of this situation that may be pretty important.

Who Actually Pays Lupul?

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The assumption with Lupul is, once placed on LTIR, the Leafs pay his salary out of their own pocket. Well, that may not be true.

If Lupul actually is healthy enough to play and his salary is either fully or partially covered by insurance, that is pretty serious. Essentially, the Leafs would be committing insurance fraud.

Furthermore, Lupul himself has posted pictures online that depict him participating in activities that an injured player would be unable to do. This is troubling, yet also confusing.

If you have ever dealt with an insurance company, you undoubtedly know one thing to be true. That is insurance companies will do just about anything to avoid paying a settlement. And by ‘anything’ I mean examining every aspect of a client’s life, including their social media posts.

Let’s use a real-world example. One day, a factory worker claims he has been injured on the job so severely, that he is unable to work again. He would then be entitled to workman’s compensation, which would be covered by his job’s insurance policy. However, months later, that same worker posts a picture of himself snowboarding. Well, the insurance company would then sue the pants off the worker.

As far as what has been made public, and not much has, no insurance company is engaged in a lawsuit with the Leafs.

Is Insurance Involved?

There is a precedent for the Leafs cracking down on social media.

Last season, the team suspended goaltender Garret Sparks for making threatening comments towards someone in a Facebook group. The key detail here is that Facebook group was closed to the public. In order for the Leafs to actually see Sparks’ comments, someone within the organization had to be a member of the group. They did, showing that the Leafs have eyes everywhere.

In letting Lupul post so freely, it would seem like insurance isn’t responsible for covering his salary. MLSE is a multi-billion-dollar corporation. I doubt they would allow such a damaging secret to be exposed by Instagram.

The Players Association

The NHLPA was founded primarily to handle situations exactly like Lupul’s. The entire purpose of a worker’s union is to ensure that an employer does not take advantage of its employees.

In fact, just last season, former Leafs defenceman Jared Cowen filed a grievance against the team for a situation incredibly similar to this one. So, why didn’t Lupul follow a similar path?

That is what truly stumps me. Lupul resides in the NHL’s most densely populated media market. If he were being taken advantage of, it would be a huge news story. Lupul’s agent would march to the first media outlet he could find to demand a trade. This trade demand would serve as the lead story on every sports channel in the country. Facing such intense coverage, the Leafs would certainly want to rid themselves of Lupul’s contract.

Instead, this is pretty much the first we’re publicly hearing anything about it.

One theory regarding Lupul’s refusal to utilize the NHLPA relates to the outcome of Cowen’s grievance case. The Leafs ultimately won it and their victory could have worked to paint such an avenue as fruitless. However, Cowen is currently attending an NHL training camp, so it certainly seems like he is healthy enough to play.

Man, this is confusing.

Injury History

As the wonderful writer, Jeff Veillette has reported, Lupul has been injured for 82 of a possible 180 games since being acquired by the Leafs. That works out to roughly 36% of his time in Toronto, not accounting for his recent stint on LTIR.

This is not a healthy player. Is it really outside the realm of possibility for a 33-year-old, who had been injured for 36% of his team’s games to be too injured to play in the NHL?

A sports hernia is what landed Lupul on the LTIR in 2016. Hernias happen to be a notoriously recurring injury, especially for someone now in their mid-thirties. Could it be possible that Lupul is instead unable to come to grips with the fact that his NHL dream is over? Honestly, we may never know.

What Happens Next?

Joffrey Lupul’s long-term health is the primary focus now. He is a human being and his NHL career will hopefully serve as just one era in his long life.

I am concerned with whether he will be able to get out of bed when he’s 60. Whether he’ll be able to walk up and down stairs without searing pain. We, as fans, have heard countless stories of athletes living their lives in agony once their playing days end. Marc Savard outlined as much in his Players Tribune article earlier this summer.

Next: Preseason Opener

There is a life beyond hockey and I sincerely hope Lupul is healthy enough to enjoy it.

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