The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain for at least the next three weeks, head coach Sheldon Keefe announced Tuesday.
John Tavares has suffered an oblique strain and will likely miss the rest of the Maple Leafs’ exhibition slate while recuperating from the injury.
A three-week recovery timeline would put him on track to return (at the earliest) on Oct. 18, the day after the Maple Leafs face the Arizona Coyotes for their fourth game of the 2022-23 regular season.
Tavares, who has served as Maple Leafs captain since 2019, finished fourth on the team with 27 goals and 76 points in 79 games last season. He added three goals and six points in seven games as Toronto fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Maple Leafs signed Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million contract as the top unrestricted free agent on the market in 2018. Since then, the 6’1″ center from Mississauga has scored 119 goals and 274 points in 280 games with Toronto over four regular seasons. He has three years remaining on his contract.
The New York Islanders originally selected Tavares with the first-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. He joined the Maple Leafs after nine highly productive seasons on Long Island to start his career.
Tavares’ absence likely spells an opportunity for the likes of Denis Malgin, Zach Aston-Reese, Adam Gaudette, and Joey Anderson, all of whom are attending Maple Leafs camp either on cheap deals or professional tryouts.
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