The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Jordie Benn has joined their growing list of defensemen on injured reserve.
Benn left, although he did come back, the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils, so it’s not wholly surprising to see him on the injured list.
The Leafs are already missing half their top six, and further down the depth chart, Carl Dahlstrom is still dealing with a long-term injury concern too. With Benn and Dahlstrom both on the shelf, the Leafs depth is almost as ravaged as the top of their lineup.
Certainly, it feels like a case of when it rains, it pours.
What’s The Backup Plan for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
As we saw against New Jersey, expect Mark Giordano to continue to rack up big minutes. Despite being the league’s oldest active player, he showed no concerns dealing with a 24-minute night (per Natural Stat Trick).
Likewise, expect to see Justin Holl out there plenty, he logged a team-leading 25 minutes last night. Love him or hate him, he is a competent player who has been a top four defender on a contending team for years.
Also expect Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren to continue to step up. The injuries may be a blessing in disguise, as the Leafs desperately need their younger players to take on a bigger role.
Though they didn’t play the toughest minutes, the Leafs did the best last season when Liljegren and Sandin were on the ice.
Beyond those four, it won’t be at all surprising to see Mac Hollowell and Victor Mete get some ice-time.
In pulling off a quietly impressive trade for Conor Timmins yesterday, Kyle Dubas has also added another option on the blue-line.
Probably the next option beyond those mentioned is bringing Filip Kral back up from the Toronto Marlies.
Indeed, as the Toronto Maple Leafs find their depth tested, expect the Toronto Marlies and possibly even the Newfoundland Growlers to be facing similar challenges as the promotions shuffle everyone’s options.
All in all, the Toronto Maple Leafs can do little more than continue to weather the storm. They have often talked about needing to learn how to deal with adversity. Well, here it is.
Realistically, the way they handle these challenges currently being thrown at them could very well shape the team far beyond the next month.
No team in the league has seen both their number one and number two goalies, along with three of their top defensemen all get injured during a 20 game stretch.
Right now, it’s on the blue-line depth to step up and fill in the gaps. It might not be pretty and the team-list might look a little sketchy on paper, but if they can get the job done, so be it.