The Toronto Maple Leafs revealed on Monday that they would be without Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews and winger Ilya Mikheyev to start the regular season, but the status of leading scorer Mitch Marner for the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday is now in question.
Marner collided with teammate Wayne Simmonds during practice at the Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday and left with a team trainer.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the collision with Simmonds was more of a glancing blow and that his leaving the ice was precautionary in nature, and that his status for the opener would be reevaluated on Wednesday morning.
“You never want to see anyone leave practice, especially a guy that we count on a lot for,” Leafs captain John Tavares said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious and he’ll be ready to go for tomorrow.”
Matthews will be out the three games after it was determined his wrist was not feeling right after undergoing wrist surgery in late August. Mikheyev suffered a broken thumb in the preseason finale against Ottawa that will require surgery and keep the big winger out eight weeks.
The potential absence of Marner could cause an even bigger scramble of the Toronto lines, as he skated with Nick Ritchie and Tavares before leaving the ice.
“I am not really concerned, I think it was just precautionary.” @MapleLeafs’ Jason Spezza and John Tavares talk about Mitch Marner leaving practice early today. pic.twitter.com/BfRM5mXI3q
In the absence of Matthews, Alex Kerfoot lined up at center on the second line with Michael Bunting and William Nylander, David Kampf centered the checking line with Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase, and the fourth line was comprised of Michael Amadio, Jason Spezza, and Simmonds.
Amadio won the final spot up front, beating out KHL import Kirill Seymonov and Adam Brooks, who was placed on waivers and claimed by the Canadiens on Monday.
The 25-year-old Winnipeg native had eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 17 games as a Leaf and was unlikely to clear waivers based on his offensive ability and low salary, but it is surprising that GM Kyle Dubas would risk trying to sneak Brooks through waivers instead of sending Amadio or a waiver-exempt Timothy Liljegren down to the American Hockey League.
Brooks is well liked by the Leafs and if the Habs try to send him down to the AHL, it is very possible that Toronto would re-claim him, since they can put him directly on the Marlies roster.
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