Winger Joffrey Lupul will undergo knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus and will be out the remainder of the regular season, according to Leafs coach Randy Carlyle's comments following practice in Tampa on Monday.
The 30-year-old winger is third on the club with 22 goals and was a late scratch in last Thursday's 4-3 overtime victory over Boston, but returned to the lineup against Winnipeg on Saturday. Lupul played just over 12 minutes but did not return for the third period after aggravating the injury.
This is the third injury this season for the popular Lupul, missing two games in October after taking a Paul Ranger shot off the skate in practice and missing seven games in December due to a groin strain.
Lupul finishes the season with 69 games played, the most the Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native has played since 2008-09 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
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With three games remaining in the regular season and the odds of making the playoffs at a minuscule 1.4%, Leafs management will have plenty of time to make decisions on which of their unrestricted free agents to bring back for next season.
A major determining factor will be whether Leafs GM Dave Nonis decides to fire Randy Carlyle or to retain the veteran coach for his second full season.
It is unlikely that Nikolai Kulemin will return no matter who Toronto's coach will be, as the Russian winger makes nearly $3 Million and has posted his third straight single-digit goal total.
Mason Raymond was an overall success as an inexpensive free agent add at training camp, but with 19 goals and 26 assists playing all 79 games, it is likely that the 28-year-old will be looking for a significant raise from his $1 Million salary.
Leafs GM Dave Nonis will hope to fill some bottom six roles with youngsters like Jerry D'Amigo and Josh Leivo after gaining experience at the AHL level.
Centers Jay McClement and Dave Bolland would be at the top of Carlyle's wish list to be retained, as dependable veterans to be relied on in critical situations. While McClement should not be costly to get re-signed, the return of Bolland will depend on how willing the Leafs are to give the the two-time Stanley Cup winner a deal of 5 years or more in the neighborhood of $5 Million per season.
The loss of Bolland for nearly three-quarters of the season severely damaged Toronto's depth up the middle and revealed that youngsters Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland are not ready to fill a top six role. If Bolland leaves via free agency, the Leafs will likely have to expend assets to obtain a veteran center or depend on Kadri or Holland to show a marked level of improvement.
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