Maple Leafs place Auston Matthews on the injured reserve but there's a catch
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has been dealing with a significant upper-body injury and today, the team made an announcement that will hurt fans.
Auston Matthews was practicing with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, which led to speculation that the captain might actually get into the lineup later this week against the New York Islanders.
Auston Matthews continues to suffer from an upper-body injury
Unfortunately, that is not going to be the case. In fact, the reality is much worse than that, much to the chagrin of Leafs fans everywhere.
Moments ago, the team announced on social media that Matthews has been placed on the injured reserve, retroactive to December 20th.
Of course, that was the night of the game against the Buffalo Sabres, where the captain re-aggravated his upper-body injury.
It was also revealed that Marshall Rifai has been called up from the Toronto Marlies, although this is due to a last-minute decision on Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
More injuries for the Toronto Maple Leafs
According to the Maple Leafs, Ekman-Larsson is still struggling with yesterday's illness and has been ruled out for the game.
The same fate has been bestowed upon forward Pontus Holmberg, who will have to watch the game in street clothes.
As for Matthews' placement on the injured reserve, Elliotte Friedman noted that he can return to the lineup at any time.
In the end, the team felt like the move was necessary since they needed the roster space given the illness to both Ekman-Larsson and Holmberg.
Needless to say, the report is not nearly as bad as it sounds.
Today's game against the Islanders will begin at 1 PM Eastern Standard Time.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 31 | 161 ANSWERS Maple Leafs place Auston Matthews on the injured reserve but there's a catch Do you believe this is a sign that Auston Matthews should be shut down by the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| YES | 98 | 60.9 % |
| NO | 63 | 39.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
