The Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman hasn't skated with teammates since an injury last week in pre-season action.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' defenseman hasn't skated with teammates since an injury last week in pre-season action.
John Klingberg is back on the ice.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman has been sidelined since last week with an upper-body injury after head coach Sheldon Keefe said "something tightened up" on him in a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Keefe indicated that Klingberg could be on track to be healthy enough to in time for opening night on Oct. 11th against the Montreal Canadiens.
"That's the plan," Keefe said on Thursday. "He's eager to get a game in on Saturday (against the Detroit Red Wings) because things went really well for him out there today.
"Seems like we'll be able to get him in practice tomorrow and make a determination from there."
The Swedish defenseman worked on some drills with skills development consultant Denver Manderson.
Toronto signed Klingberg as a free agent to a one-year, $4.15 million contract in July. During his time at training camp, he was primarily paired with defenseman Jake McCabe while also quarterbacking the team's top power-play unit featuring Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.
Klingberg split last season with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild where he scored 10 goals and added 23 assists in 67 games.
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