With a banged-up blueline, trade chatter will surely pick up as the league passes through the season’s quarter mark.
The Maple Leafs will surely be around some of those discussions, but even before that, the club gave some updates on a trio of those injured blueliners on Thursday — at least, sort of.
As noted by the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, head coach Sheldon Keefe said Mark Giordano is considered week-to-week with a broken finger, while Timothy Liljegren hit the ice for the first time on Wednesday. When it comes to John Klingberg, who has been dealing with a hip impediment that has landed him on LTIR, there was no update, Koshan said.
Liljegren skated yesterday for the first time. Keefe: “He’s progressing well … but he’s not close yet.” No update yet on Klingberg. #Leafs
— Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) November 30, 2023
In the case of Giordano, a broken finger could be considered the best scenario outcome after suffering the injury in the Leafs’ games against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Undoubtedly, his absence will leave a void on teh blue line, which will see Simon Benoit try and fill.
For Liljegren, whose high-ankle sprain landed him on LTIR, hitting the ice is a great sign. Injured in late October, Keefe initially said he would miss “significant time,” and a month out of the lineup already is showing that.
Klingberg’s hip injury has had him on the ice skating, but he doesn’t appear close to returning to the lineup.
“It’s always been there throughout my career, but I’ve been able to deal with it and work through it. But it kind of hit a rock bottom here these last few weeks,” Klingberg told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox in Sweden two weeks ago while the Leafs were there for the 2023 Global Series.
It stems from double hip surgery Klingberg underwent in April 2014, Fox noted, that has left the once mobile rearguard with hamstring, and mobility issues since.
The Leafs take on the Seattle Kraken at 7:00 PM EST tonight before getting the Boston Bruins to come to town Saturday. Then, there’s a four-day gap between games when the team visits Ottawa next Thursday.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
