Toronto Maple Leafs: Morgan Rielly Injury Update

Morgan Rielly won’t be in the lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Colorado Avalanche and it seems that he’ll be out of the lineup till after the all star break.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported earlier today that the Toronto Maple Leafs likely won’t rush Rielly back after Thursday night’s collision with Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Rielly is still considered to be ‘day-to-day’ with an upper-body injury and the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t looking to put him in the lineup too soon. Rushing him back when he’s not in tip-top shape effectively puts him in danger of re-injuring himself.

Rielly is currently having the best season of his career, with 5 goals and 26 assists to date. If he continues to keep up this pace, he could be a strong candidate to win the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping that a week and a half off will be enough time for Rielly to get healthy. Their first game after the break is on the 31st at home against the New York Islanders.

Hopefully, Leafs Nation will be able to see Rielly back in the lineup then.

Gardiner Jumps Into Rielly’s Spot

Meanwhile, Jake Gardiner has replaced Rielly’s spot in the top defensive pairing alongside Ron Hainsey.

This season, Gardiner has drawn plenty of criticism but played his heart out against the Ottawa Senators, where he tallied three assists and set up Mitch Marner for a beautiful game-tying goal.

In this morning’s press conference, Mike Babcock explained that he’s been happy with Gardiner’s play. Even though, “sometimes you don’t know what he’s doing” especially when the Leafs are in the offensive zone.

It’s a really confusing comment for Leafs Nation to interpret.

To be honest, I don’t understand how this makes any sense. If you are a head coach, you want to understand what you’re players are doing every second that they are on the ice. It doesn’t matter if you are coaching a youth team or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

You want to understand you’re players inside out and what they are capable of. This comment by Babcock just seemed rather foolish.

Personally, I understand that Babcock is rather happy with how Gardiner played against the Senators, but Gardiner’s been shaky all season from a consistency standpoint. If Babcock’s statement came after their loss to Philadelphia, he would have turned more heads.

Next: Remembering Dion Phaneuf

Hopefully, Gardiner can continue his strong offensive play tonight against the Avalanche and bring home another win for Toronto.

UPDATED 7pm :  The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Morgan Rielly on the injured reserve.