Maple Leafs place defenseman Rasmus Sandin on IR

After suffering a neck injury in the Toronto Maple Leafs' last game, Rasmus Sandin has been moved to injured reserve. Head coach Sheldon Keefe explained Wednesday that the team would re-evaluate him after the Christmas break, meaning a stint on IR doesn’t necessarily mean he will be out long term. Sandin must miss at least seven days, but the Maple Leafs don’t play again until Dec. 27 after Thursday’s afternoon match with the Philadelphia Flyers.

In his place, the team recalled Mac Hollowell from the minor leagues. The 24-year-old Hollowell played six games with the Leafs earlier this season when they were dealing with a number of injuries on defense and has been excellent in the minor leagues with 10 points in 13 games for the Toronto Marlies.

Unfortunately for Hollowell, the team also recently activated Jordie Benn, who will slide into Sandin’s spot in the lineup Thursday. The club is still without Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete and Carl Dahlstrom but has still shown a strong defensive ability. Toronto sits second in goals against on the year, having allowed just 79 in 33 games.

Part of that success has been the strong play of Sandin, who has regularly gone over 20 minutes of ice time in the absence of Rielly. The 22-year-old was selected 29th overall in 2018 and has played 121 regular-season games so far in his career.