'Next Man Up': John Tavares Listed Week-To-Week, And What That Means To The Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced at Saturday's morning skate ahead of their matchup against the New York Islanders that John Tavares is listed "week-to-week" with what they're calling a lower-body injury.

The team classifies the week-to-week title as an absence that could last up to six weeks.

Tavares played just 11:47 of ice time in Toronto's previous contest against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. He went down and stayed down for a little while after an awkward collision.

Still, in his 14 shifts in their 5-4 overtime loss, Tavares notched two assists. He's scored two goals and seven points in seven games, and his absence will hurt the Maple Leafs, leaving a hole on the second line, even if he did play left wing on Thursday.

Maple Leafs head coach discussed how much of an impact Tavares' absence will have on the team, nodding to how great he's been playing lately.

"You know, John was playing well too. That's a tough one for us," Hiller said after morning skate. "You know, just on the heels of (Tanev), too. So those are two veteran players, and you just got to find a way."  

Now, it's a next-man-up mentality for Toronto.

"I mean, one of the top players in the league for a long, long time," William Nylander said of Tavares. "So it's tough to see that happen. Hopefully he's back soon. But you know, that's where we got to dig in as a team, and we built some character out of this process."

"Obviously John's a big piece," Easton Cowan said. "Unfortunately, you know, things like that happen. So I feel like just the next man up. We've got a lot of good players. So I'm just looking to, you know, get two points here tonight and keep it rolling."

Even in Thursday's game, Hiller took note of Cowan's performance when the team eventually dropped to just three active forward lines, with Gavin McKenna being benched and Zack MacEwen only playing 5:27 of ice time against Buffalo.

"I thought Easton Cowan played extremely well in that last game," Hiller said. "I think we got on our heels a little bit in the third period. We didn't like the result, but 'Cowboy' was the one guy in the third period, I thought had a lot of energy. Was still F-1 on the forecheck, created a little bit. So we'll probably end up leaning on him just a little more."

"Yeah, I think no matter where I am in the lineup, you try to help the team win, Cowan said. "So, just a new opportunity here tonight."

Tavares, 36, has been fairly durable throughout his career, especially lately. Last season, he played all 82 games and has played at least 75 games in the last five campaigns.

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