The Toronto Maple Leafs did an admirable job of playing a tight defensive game without many of their top players in a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. But there have been many occasions over the last couple of weeks where it looked like they could use some help from someone like Calle Jarnkrok.
As it stands right now, it doesn't appear as though the player is returning anytime soon, despite returning to the ice for a couple of solo skating sessions.
"We're hopeful it's not too much longer but he's not close right now (to returning," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said.
One day before the Maple Leafs were set to take on the Winnipeg Jets for their final game before the bye week, Jarnkrok took a puck off his hand. He was in immediate discomfort and left the session. The Leafs later reviewed that the utility forward sustained a broken knuckle.
On Tuesday, the Maple Leafs moved Jarnkrok over from injured reserve, to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) to utilize his $2.1 million salary cap hit for additional roster changes and callups that were necessary. The move, retroactive to his previous game, requires him to miss a total of 10 games and 24 days. Had he been healing fast enough, Jarnkrok would have been eligible to return to the lineup as soon as Feb. 24 against the Colorado Avalanche. But based on Keefe's comments that doesn't appear to be part of the plans.
The plan for Jarnkrok is the get a follow-up X-ray this week on his hand. In the meantime, he'll continue to skate to get his conditioning up.
"We're hopeful once the strength comes back in his hand and everything is healed, we'd be able to get him back in the mix pretty quickly from there," Keefe said.
The 32-year-old has 10 goals and nine assists in 46 games with the Leafs this season.
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