The Toronto Maple Leafs look as if they will have all hands on deck in the very near future, as injured centers Trevor Smith and Dave Bolland skated with teammates at the club’s practice facility in Etobicoke, ON.
“This is the time of year now, with 22 games left, that we might have our lineup that we wrote down coming out of training camp in September.” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle stated on Monday.
Smith has missed 24 games due to a broken hand blocking a shot against the Florida Panthers on December 17th and is closer to returning than Bolland, who has been out since early November with an ankle tendon laceration.
“When you break a finger or an ankle, which I wish it was, you know you come back in six weeks or two months.” Bolland said regarding the timeframe of his return. “It’s not really one of those hockey injuries that we know when a guy can come back….right at that date, for me it’s progression every day.”
While the two-time Stanley Cup winner is focused on getting back on the ice, Leafs management is endeavoring to get the 27-year-old center locked up on a new deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the Mimico, ON native’s representatives could be looking for a long-term deal in the neighborhood $4.5 to over $5 Million per season, which would pose problems for the Leafs salary structure as top line center Tyler Bozak is making $4.2 Million in the first year of his new deal.
Leafs GM Dave Nonis may be in a situation where he feels his club could carry on as they have the last 3 ½ months without Bolland and shop the veteran center before the March 5th trade deadline, but it is questionable whether another NHL team would be willing to give up fair value for someone coming off a serious injury.
Bolland is keeping things low key about the possibility of being moved or his contract.
"Whatever happens, happens," Bolland told TSN's Mark Masters on Monday. "If it's staying here, it's staying here. That's my goal."
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The last of the Maple Leafs Olympic participants are back in North America. Forwards Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk arrived on a chartered flight from Sochi to New Jersey Monday morning.
According to Carlyle, Kessel was to arrive back in Toronto this afternoon, while van Riemsdyk remained in New Jersey to spend a day with his family before returning on Tuesday.
The Leafs coach indicated that he will try to get some rest for the two Team USA members, who played six games over the two week tournament and contests against Canada and Finland back-to-back on the weekend.
“I think that both guys are deserved of a little bit more than one day off here.” Carlyle said. “What will try to do is we’ll try to manage a couple of days for them and Wednesday might be one of those days and Friday might be one of those days, depending on how they feel and the feedback I get from them.”
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