Toronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann will not return to Wednesday’s contest with a lower-body injury, the team announced during the third period.
McMann left the game during the second period and headed to the locker room. He blocked a shot from Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad, lost a skate blade during the first period and was hit by a shot from teammate Chris Tanev during the contest but it’s unclear what caused the injury. McMann played 10:21 in Wednesday’s game before exiting the contest.
Toronto is facing several injuries to their forward corps with Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok all out of the lineup, while Ryan Reaves is serving a five-game suspension for an illegal hit on Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse. Toronto has remained resilient in spite of the injuries, recording a 7-1-0 record during Matthews’ injury-related absence.
McMann has become an indispensable part of the Maple Leafs’ lineup and has worked on Toronto’s new first line alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The 28-year-old has recorded six goals and seven points in 21 games this season.
If McMann is out of the lineup for any amount of time, it will be a tough loss for the Maple Leafs. Nikita Grebenkin, Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves and Alex Nylander have all been called up from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and the organization may be forced to dip further into the farm system to weather another injury. Logan Shaw or Roni Hirvonen may be the most logical choices if the Maple Leafs elect to make another call up for Saturday’s game, while it’s possible Minten and Grebenkin could secure permanent spots with strong showings during their recent run in the NHL.
Toronto resumes its schedule Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
We’ll update this story once further details are revealed about McMann’s injury.
