Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't state whether Lyubushkin would be available for Wednesday's game against the Capitals.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't state whether Lyubushkin would be available for Wednesday's game against the Capitals.
Ilya Lyubushkin won't travel with the team when they head to Philadelphia on Monday afternoon.
The defenseman was absent from Maple Leafs practice on Monday, but it wasn't because of an injury or maintenance, which was why he missed practice on Friday.
"Lyubushkin is ill. Nothing related to injury or anything like that," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said following practice on Monday. "He's ill. But not going to be travelling with us today."
Toronto is gearing up for back-to-back games on the road this week, playing the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. With the 29-year-old defender not travelling with the team on Monday afternoon, his status doesn't look good for Tuesday against the Flyers.
"I'd say it's doubtful [he plays] at this point," Keefe added.
Lyubushkin — although he's played well since being acquired by Toronto — has had a difficult run with injuries. In his first game back with the Maple Leafs, he was forced to leave after taking a hit from New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe.
The defenseman took a maintenance day on Friday because he "had some things tighten up on him" after taking a few hits against the Flyers the night prior. But this could be the first game Lyubushkin will miss since returning to the Maple Leafs via trade.
"He plays hard. I like the way he plays. Hopefully he's all good," Morgan Rielly said of Lyubushkin on Monday. "But I think with all our guys on the backend, we can mix and match and play with each other. So I think we're in a good spot."
With the defenseman absent from practice, Toronto changed up their pairings. TJ Brodie was returned to the top pairing with Rielly while Simon Benoit came back into the defense skating alongside Jake McCabe.
Lyubushkin was acquired by the Maple Leafs from the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 29 in a three-team trade. Anaheim and the Carolina Hurricanes each retained 50% of the defenseman's salary, which is now just $687,500 with Toronto.
He's appeared in seven games with the Maple Leafs this season, scoring two assists and averaging 16:07 of ice time. Lyubushkin will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
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