The Leafs announced tonight during the Leafs-Blackhawks game that Mitch Marner will be out with an ankle injury, and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner underwent an MRI exam today after sustaining an ankle injury in last night’s game vs. PHI.
Marner is expected to be out of the lineup for a minimum of 4 weeks, at which point he will be reassessed by the @MapleLeafs medical staff. #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 11, 2019
The injury was sustained during the second period of last night’s game vs. the Flyers, after falling on his right leg off the opening faceoff.
Some have mentioned the potential of it being a high ankle injury, which even when healed, can take a while to fully recover, so even after his return, it might be a while before we get Mitch at 100%.
Slowed it down, that's a right knee / ankle injury for Marner.#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/fa6vENjQg8
— Leafs ALL Day (@LeafsAllDayy) November 10, 2019
However, with the minimum of four weeks for a recovery time, Marner will be placed on LTIR, and the Leafs cap crunch will be prolonged for another month or so, even if Zach Hyman returns.
This injury comes at the worst time for the Leafs (not that there is ever a good time for an injury to one of your top forwards), as they were riding their first three game win streak of the season going into the game vs. the Flyers, and were also really close to having a full lineup with Hyman’s return.
Marner was off to another strong start for the Leafs, as he had four goals and 18 points for the Leafs in his first 18 games.
However, the cap relief comes with some room to experiment a bit more, perhaps even get a much needed backup goalie, since it’s clear that Hutchinson isn’t going to excel in the role.