**UPDATE**
TSN is reporting that winger Joffrey Lupul has suffered a broken forearm.
The 29 year old Lupul left the ice in the second period of the Leafs 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh after taking a Dion Phaneuf slap shot off of his right arm.
Head coach Randy Carlyle confirmed the injury in his post game remarks. How long he will be out of the lineup will be determined in the next few days after Lupul is examined by the Leafs medical staff.
Defenseman Mike Komisarek also left the game injured after taking a hard check from the Pens Chris Kunitz midway through the third period.
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Rumors over recent days regarding the possibility of MLSE having interest in hiring Hall Of Famer Wayne Gretzky as Leafs team president were squelched by Sportsnet FAN 590 host Bob McCown, who reported via Twitter this morning that a member of the MLSE board had talked to the former superstar about the position vacated by the dismissal of Brian Burke two weeks ago and that “the Great One” was not interested.
According to McCown, the long time host of FAN 590’s Prime Time Sports,
“Chance Gretzky lands with Leafs....... 0.1%”
Gretzky has been conspicuous in his absence from the hockey scene since losing his 10% stake in the ownership in the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009 to bankruptcy and it is expected that once the ownership situation in Arizona is resolved(and he is reimbursed for his share of the club) that the 51 year old would be open to getting involved in an ownership or management with another club.
McCown mentioned that the possibility of the California based Gretzky becoming involved with an ownership group looking to buy the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.
This denial of interest will not end the story, only Gretzky taking a role with another club will truly end it. With the ownership split between two media conglomerates, the hiring of arguably the best hockey player of all time in any role would be a public relations coup, but it has to be a concern whether his past experience as point man for the Canadian Olympic Team and director of hockey operations in Phoenix constitutes enough of a resume.
Hiring Wayne Gretzky to be the face of a franchise is one thing. Having him be responsible for putting together a winning team under an intense media microscope in Toronto is quite another.
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Coach Randy Carlyle appears to be shifting things around in preparation for tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to the FAN 590’s David Alter, James Reimer was the first goalie to leave the ice this morning, which is indicative of him getting the start tonight.
Carlyle reportedly is altering all three of his top lines, as Clarke MacArthur will move to the top line to play with Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk will play with Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, while Joffrey Lupul skates with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.
Defenseman Jake Gardiner will return to game action tonight after missing nearly six weeks with concussion related issues. Korbinian Holzer, who did not have to go through waivers to be sent down, has been sent to the Toronto Marlies, who are short handed on the blueline with the promotion of Mike Kostka and Mark Fraser and the injury to Paul Ranger.
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