The Toronto Maple Leafs have been hit with not one, but two unfortunate injuries.
Jake Gardiner, arguably the Toronto Maple Leafs best 5v5 defender, and up and coming future all-star Travis Dermot are both out “week to week,” which, for the NHL, is a pretty detailed injury announcement.
These two injuries are going to cost the Leafs.
Sure, some clowns are going to celebrate Gardiner’s injury, but he’s going to be missed, as is Dermott. The Leafs are going to clearly lose a step with two of their top four defensemen out of the lineup.
There is, however, some upside to this situation.
Experimentation
With Gardiner and Dermott out, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be forced to experiment with some alternate pairings. (Although this probably puts a nail in the idea of Babcock re-uniting Muzzin and Rielly, at least for now).
The one upside is that Jake Muzzin, who Babcock has inexplicably used in a judicious manner, will get more ice time.
It will also give the Leafs a chance to test their depth, and to keep the back-up players fresh in case they are needed for the playoffs.
Igor Ozhiganov, who was partnered with Dermott on one of the best statistical third pairings in the NHL prior to Muzzin’s acquisition (but hasn’t played since) will get a chance to get back in the lineup, although he appears to be a healthy scratch for the Islander’s game). (Note this article was written ahead of game-time, but published this morning. I’ll update with info from last night’s game at my earliest convenience).
Justin Holl, who has been healthy scratched a record 486 times, will also get some ice time. I’d bet a ton of money if given the chance he’d perform better than Ron Hainsey.
Martin Marincin has been called up, and he’s a solid, if unspectacular player, who can also help.
It will be good to get these guys some minutes, something the coaching staff probably should have been doing all along anyways.
Then there are the rookies: Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren.
Although several players would have to stumble before the latter two got a shot, Calle Rosen would have been the first call up, had he not been injured blocking a shot the other day.
Sometimes an injury to a key player can be a blessing in disguise when a sub comes in and earns a permanent lineup spot. The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping that that happens. Perhaps Justin Holl or Calle Rosen makes themselves so indispensable that when Garidner and Dermott return, the Leafs are forced to remove Nikita Zaitsev or Ron Hainsey.
We can only hope!