The Toronto Maple Leafs had some good and bad news to share on Monday.
In good news, Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe was back on the ice for practice after he sat out Saturday’s pre-season finale to rest an undisclosed upper-body injury. McCabe, 30, had eight goals and 20 assists over 73 games.
The bad news was that forward Calle Järnkrok was absent from Monday’s practice after he reaggravated an undisclosed injury that he’s been plagued with most of the pre-season.
Järnkrok reaggravted the injury in Thursday’s pre-season game against the Detroit Red Wings where he had one shot on goal in 14:42 of ice time. The 33-year-old forward recorded 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games with Toronto last season.
“Timetable? I don’t know,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said to reporters when asked about Järnkrok’s injury.
The Athletic’s James Mirtle reported Monday that the Maple Leafs, who were entering the season with $4.3 million over the cap, have already placed Järnkrok and his $2 million salary on long-term injured reserve to help the team get cap compliant. Mirtle added that Jani Hakanpää ($1.47 million) and Dakota Mermis ($775,000) were also placed on LTIR, while Connor Dewar ($1.18 million) was placed on regular injured reserve.
A player is placed on LTIR when a team expects them to be absent for at least 10 games and 24 days of the season.
The Maple Leafs open their regular season on Wednesday when they visit the Montreal Canadiens. The team has to finalize its 23-man roster roster by 5 p.m. ET on Monday.
