Joel Edmundson 'Looks Good' As Maple Leafs Defense Returns to Full Health, Now Who Sits For Game 1?
Edmundson was back at practice after something "popped up" in his return to the lineup on April 11th against the New Jersey Devils.
Joel Edmundson returned to practice on Monday after the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman missed Saturday's overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings due to something that "popped up" in the player's return from a previous injury.
Edmundson's return meant all nine defensemen were at Maple Leafs practice on Monday and available to the club, something that hasn't often been the case since the club acquired Edmundson on March 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Edmundson will likely be in the lineup when the Maple Leafs visit the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. He practiced on the team's third defense pair with Timothy Liljegren, who recently returned from an upper-body injury. Both players had been paired together before injuries occurred to each of them. Liljegren sustained an upper-body injury while Edmundson felt the lingering effects of a shot block on against the Hurricanes on Mar. 24.
It's projecting like that could be the Maple Leafs' third defense pair for the playoffs should they remain healthy. But with all nine defensemen available it's going to be tough to see where TJ Brodie factors in all of this.
"We do have some depth on defense," Keefe said when it comes to their amount of healthy bodies. "So I expect we'll use everybody here through the two games there."
And that's likely where the final decision will be made on which six defensemen will start in Game 1. When the club acquired Edmundson, Simon Benoit was the odd man out. Later on, TJ Brodie was given a "mental reset' as the veteran struggled but was quickly inserted back into the lineup as injuries took hold.
There is always the possibility the Leafs could dress seven defensemen for the playoffs. Although they haven't done it recently, Keefe deployed it several times, including the team's series-winning Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Defense remains one of Toronto's biggest questions going into the playoffs and it's likely to change many times throughout their first-round series that begins this weekend.
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