Conor Timmins’ impressive preseason has come to a premature end as it was announced that he suffered a lower-body injury late in last night’s game against the Canadiens.
It is unclear when exactly the injury occurred, but the result is that he will get an MRI to determine just how much damage was caused to it and how long he will be out.
This is a tough setback for a player dealing with ailments throughout his professional career so far. Timmins was in the midst of an impressive preseason with a league-leading six points (two goals and four assists) in only three games played, doing all that he could to ensure he remained on the roster beyond camp.
He was originally acquired from a midseason trade with the Coyotes that saw Curtis Douglas head the other way. In 25 games played, Timmins registered two goals, 12 assists, and 14 points which was good enough to earn himself a two-year extension worth $1.1 million a season.
The season has not even fully begun yet and the Leafs are already running into injury trouble on their blueline. Aside from Timmins, John Klingberg has already been ruled out day-to-day with an upper-body ailment he suffered during the annual Kraft Hockeyville.
If Timmins were to end up on LTIR, it would get the Leafs to just under $2 million left to clear up before the start of the regular season. The $1.1 million relief obviously won’t be enough to get Toronto to be cap-compliant before the start of the regular season, but it gets them one step closer to reaching that point. Unless there are any further injuries, don’t be surprised if the Leafs have to send down a few players or make a salary dump trade in the coming days.
Regardless of what direction the Leafs go, there is no denying that this is an unfortunate turn of events for Timmins who was off to a great start to the 2023 preseason.
Stats from Hockey-Reference.com.
Salary information from CapFriendly.
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