The Toronto Maple Leafs may be bitten by the injury bug early this season, as both
Morgan Rielly and
Justin Holl were forced to leave scrimmages early over the last two days.
Rielly had left Tuesday's session after appearing to tweak something in his left leg/foot and did not return. He was present at the Leafs' training facility on Wednesday, but he was not skating and stuck to the weight room.
While Rielly's issue could end up being minor and his absence more precautionary, fellow blueliner
Justin Holl may not be so lucky, as he had to be escorted to the dressing room by a trainer on Wednesday.
The Leafs could find themselves in a bit of a tough spot to start the season if the injuries to Rielly and Holl wind up being longer-term in nature.
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The Leafs are not particularly deep at defense having just lost
Zach Bogosian to free agency this offseason. If Holl and/or Rielly end up on the shelf longer-term, the Leafs will likely have to turn to prospects like
Timothy Liljegren and Brennan Menell to play a larger role than anticipated this season.
Barring a trade for added defensive depth with NHL experience, the defense pairings could end up looking something like this, should injuries to Rielly and Holl be closer to a week-to-week situation:
Muzzin/Brodie
Sandin/Liljegren
Dermott/Menell
No disrespect to Lilegren or Menell, but with the Leafs being back in the Atlantic Division this season, that defense corps likely won't have Leafs fans entering the season with a lot of confidence on the back end - though it's entirely possible that this group could thrive and silence the doubters early.
I would anticipate some updates on Holl and Rielly ahead of training camp next week.
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