The New York Islanders have announced that defenseman Scott Mayfield has been placed on injured reserve due to his upper-body injury.
The placement is retroactive to December 11th, which was the last game Mayfield played when the Islanders faced the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will miss at least two more games before he is eligible to return, although the lack of a timeline indicates that it could be longer.
Mayfield, 31, appeared to have suffered the injury in that game against the Maple Leafs, although he played the entirety of the game, including the minute and a half leading up to the Leafs late game-tying goal. He had two giveaways and four blocked shots in 22:41 of ice time as the Isles won 4-3 in overtime.
Mayfield’s been about as productive as he has been most seasons, although he has yet to score a goal with just four assists in 20 games, which still makes for a 16-point pace that would put him around his usual production. However, he’s better known for his defensive play, as he’s tied for 35th among defensemen in defensive goals above replacement since 2021 with 11.1.
Mayfield was a second-round pick of the Islanders in the 2011 NHL Draft, and has spent the entirety of his 10-season NHL career in New York. He’s currently in the first year of a seven-year contract with a $3.5 million cap hit, a deal that he signed in the 2023 offseason.
Sebastian Aho has taken Mayfield’s place on the second pair alongside Mike Reilly thus far, but they’ve also had to navigate a couple other injuries on the backend with Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech out. The Islanders have recently claimed Reilly off of waivers and traded for Robert Bortuzzo to help with their defensive depth amidst all of the injuries.
The Islanders will look to extend their four-game winning streak and seven-game point streak on Friday as they host the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. EST. They currently sit in second in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-7-7 record.
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