The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Ryan O’Reilly likely for the rest of the season with a broken index finger. Luckily for him and the team, it should not impact his availability for round one of the NHL playoffs.
With 19 regular season games left, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the home stretch of the season. The NHL playoffs are just a month away, and Toronto currently holds a five-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division. A spot they will want to keep if they want a home-ice advantage in round one of the playoffs.
O’Reilly sustained the finger injury during the final minute of the second period in Saturday night’s loss to the Vancouver Canucks. When the injury happened, it was unclear what part of O’Reilly’s hand got hurt. However, after the game, a picture surfaced showing O’Reilly with a splint on his left index finger.
Having O’Reilly healed and healthy for round one of the playoffs is vital for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He gives the team a real chance to find playoff success. Something we all know Toronto hasn’t had in a really long time.
Toronto Maple Leafs without Ryan O’Reilly
The next logical step is for Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas to place O’Reilly on LTIR. Doing so will give Toronto $2.8 million in cap space to call up a few players from the Toronto Marlies. Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, there are no roster size limits. Toronto can exceed 23 players as long as they have the cap space to do so.
Players Toronto could call up from the Marlies are Pontus Holmberg, Bobby McMann, and Wayne Simmonds. All three have spent time playing for Maple Leafs this season, and Toronto will have the cap space to bring up all three. Toronto would have a 25-man roster with 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and two goaltenders.
The Toronto Marlies are also in the stretch run of their season and trying to remain first in their division, so the Maple Leafs might only call up Simmonds and one of Holmberg or McMann instead. The main focus must be on the Maple Leafs, but Dubas will not deplete the Marlies if he doesn’t have to.
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O’Reilly will be missed from Toronto’s lineup. He has five points in eight games with the Maple Leafs and a 67.5% faceoff winning percentage. The good news is he will likely remain with the team and be a leader in the locker room.