The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have Calle Järnkrok around much in February.
He broke his left knuckle at practice Friday afternoon and is out week to week, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters Saturday in Winnipeg. Järnkrok is expected to miss three to four weeks. It’s a more damaging injury than it might seem, as it’s the first major injury the Leafs have suffered at forward all season.
Keefe was already short on forwards, especially ones he could really trust. Järnkrok is one of those players. Keefe has used him in every conceivable scenario this season. Power play. Penalty kill. Protecting leads. Chasing a goal with the net empty. Järnkrok has spent time on each of the team’s top three lines this season.
Keefe had even been dropping him out with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to start and end periods lately in place of younger forwards like Matthew Knies and Pontus Holmberg. Just to make sure nothing bad happened. He trusted Järnkrok that way.
The Leafs have no Swiss Army-style forward like him to lean on now, and could stand to add one ahead of the March 8 trade deadline.
“He doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Keefe said of Järnkrok, “but inside our room, I think he’s got a great deal of respect he’s earned with the way he plays the game.”
Keefe was reluctant to trust his third line with Järnkrok around.
How much will he play that Max Domi-led group now, especially in third periods when the Leafs are defending a lead?
The Leafs haven’t leaned much on their fourth line either this season, which means that more will be asked of Matthews, Marner, and William Nylander, especially up top.
Though he’s currently stuck in a nine-game drought, Järnkrok ranks fifth on the Leafs with 10 goals. His absence means one less viable candidate to put the puck in the net behind the big guys.
The Leafs have scored 89 goals since Dec. 1. Matthews, Marner, and Nylander have 48 of them — 54 percent from three players.
This team has had all kinds of trouble on the penalty kill this season. Järnkrok is one of the few experienced killers up front. He’s played lately on the second unit with Nylander. In his absence, the Leafs will have to grant more minutes to one of Matthews, Noah Gregor, Knies or Holmberg, all of whom have bounced in and out of penalty-killing duty this season.
The Leafs do catch a break here. The first week of Järnkrok’s absence will come during the All-Star break.
He might only end up missing six to 10 games, which is still a blow when the playoff race is as tight as it is right now for the Leafs.
To this point, the only Leaf forwards to miss significant time with injury this season are Ryan Reaves and Bobby McMann. The Leafs have been fortunate that way.
Losing Järnkrok for a few weeks will hurt.
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(Photo: Derek Cain / Getty Images)
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2024-01-27 23:50:57Z
CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzUyMzE3NTkvMjAyNC8wMS8yNy9tYXBsZS1sZWFmcy1jYWxsZS1qYXJua3Jvay1oYW5kLWluanVyeS_SAVhodHRwczovL3RoZWF0aGxldGljLmNvbS81MjMxNzU5LzIwMjQvMDEvMjcvbWFwbGUtbGVhZnMtY2FsbGUtamFybmtyb2staGFuZC1pbmp1cnkvP2FtcD0x
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