Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
As the Toronto Maple Leafs try and navigate through their injured player list as best they can, there’s not much fans can do but wait until they finally get healthy enough to return.
Though we’ve seen shades of progress with players taking the ice for practices, they still seem a long way away, and if you were to ask Craig Berube, he would confirm as much.
What Craig Berube actually said about Anthony Stolarz, Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev
Speaking to reporters after the team’s practice on Friday, Berube updated everyone on the status of Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo, and Anthony Stolarz, saying he wasn’t optimistic about a quick return for any of them.
Suffice to say, it wasn’t the most positive of updates:
While he was mum on names like Nic Roy, and Matthew Knies, he did previously mention that Roy is going to be missing at least Saturday’s game, and while Knies returned to the ice his status is undetermined.
How these three lingering injuries squeeze the Maple Leafs’ goaltending and blue line
Right now, the team is being squeezed pretty thin when it comes to who they can use but so far they’ve been able to patch together a pretty solid string of performances even if the results might tell a different story.
But the addition of Troy Stecher has helped a lot giving the team a puck-moving defender who can actually skate, and Dakota Mermis has been solid alongside him and a much better choice than Philippe Myers.In terms of the crease, the team has been blessed with Joseph Woll‘s return and while he hasn’t been perfect, he’s given Toronto a better chance of winning and has very solid numbers compared to Anthony Stolarz.
With Stolarz nursing an injury, it’s fair to wonder if health has been a factor in his early-season struggles, but the team hasn’t confirmed that.
But they do have Dennis Hildeby to back him up and while he is still young, he’s shown that at least for now he can provide a serviceable backup to Woll especially on a back-to-back.
Craig Berube’s got a lot on his plate right now, and injuries are preventing him from putting out the lineup he wants.
But he’s doing the best that he can, especially knowing that there’s no clear idea as to when he’ll get some of his important pieces back.
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Bad news for three important Maple Leafs after Craig Berube’s latest injury update
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