Toronto Maple Leafs: Frederik Andersen to the Injured Reserve

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed goalie Frederik Andersen on the injured reserve.

According to TSN’s Kristen Shilton, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made the move retroactive to December 23rd.

That means that they don’t have to dress him and can call in a replacement, but because the date is more than seven days ago, they can bring him off the injured reserve at anytime.

Because the Leafs are also down Garrett Sparks (concussion) they will dress their back-up’s back-up, and their back-up’s back-up’s back-back up today against the Wild.

Freddie Andersen

Andersen’s injury is thought to be a groin injury, although it is not feared to be serious.  How serious you’re supposed to take that report is up to you, but the NHL is notoriously terrible at giving its fans injury information, and there is no sure thing anything the Leafs tell anyone is true in this regard either.

All we know is that he’s not playing today.   You can infer, however, from the retroactive date of the IR transfer that there is at least the possibility that his stay on the IR is a short one.

Either way, the Leafs are sure to be challenged with Andersen out.

If they are to survive long-term without Andersen, they are going to have to tighten up their defense, that is for sure.

The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit 13th in the NHL in shot-attempts, just over the 50% possession mark.  They are the fifth worst team for shots-allowed per minute in the NHL.

These are the stats of a horrible defensive team, and the only reason they are doing as well as they are doing is because Andersen has played extremely well.

In fact, betting on Andersen to maintain the excellent level he’s displayed so far would be foolish, so it’s highly unlikely that a lesser goalie than Andersen is going to come in and help the Leafs.

Of course, anyone capable of making the NHL can go on a run, so it’s not impossible that Michael Hutchinson tears it up and keeps the Leafs on pace while Andersen is out.

Regardless, this team needs to improve it’s possession stats and getting rid of Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey from their top four would go a long way in accomplishing that.  Since Nylander came back and they have what are essentially three first lines, they have been trending upwards regardless, but it’s still key to improve the defense.

People will obviously panic here and be upset by Andersen’s injury, but the fact is that it’s only January and the Leafs are practically assured a playoff spot.  If Andersen is injured later, that’s a different story, but for now, in the long run, it’s probably better than Babcock can’t use him for 70 regular season games.

stats from naturalstattrick.com