Laughton practiced with the Maple Leafs on Monday in a regular jersey after previously wearing a red non-contact jersey.
The Toronto Maple Leafs could get one of their injured players back in time for their next game, on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Scott Laughton has been out of the Maple Leafs' lineup since Nov. 8 against the Boston Bruins. The 31-year-old took a hit up high from Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov in the second period. It was Laughton's second game back after suffering a lower-body injury during Toronto's second-last preseason game.
He has been skating with the Maple Leafs in a regular jersey as of late, and following the team's optional skills practice on Wednesday (which Laughton was on the ice for), head coach Craig Berube revealed he could be in the lineup against Columbus.
"Maybe," said Berube. "We'll see."
As for the long list of other injured players the Maple Leafs have, including Auston Matthews (lower body), Matthew Knies (upper body), Nicolas Roy (upper body), Chris Tanev (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body), and Anthony Stolarz (upper body), none will play on Thursday.
Knies (a late scratch on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues) and Roy are the most recent players to go down with an ailment. Berube was asked specifically if either would play against the Blue Jackets, to which he said, "No."
'I Fully Believe In Craig (Berube)': Brad Treliving Isn't Interested In A Coaching Change Despite Maple Leafs' Early Struggles
Treliving opened his first quarter of the season availability, taking full responsibility for the team's start.
Berube had mentioned on Wednesday that Roy won't be back for the next couple of games.
Matthews suffered his injury against the Bruins on Nov. 11. Tanev was taken off on a stretcher after taking an awkward hit from Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov on Nov. 1. Despite both being on the ice on Wednesday, they'll still be out of the lineup for some time.
"Tanev's a ways away," added Berube. "Matthews is coming along. Like, he's improving. Obviously, he won't play tomorrow."
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, in his quarter-season media availability, already confirmed Matthews wouldn't play on Thursday.
"Probably after Thursday, at least we get a little bit better sense of how things are responding. I don't anticipate too, too long."
'I Don't Anticipate Too Long': Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Skates For First Time Since Lower-Body Injury, Return Timeline Still Unclear
After a difficult history with injury timelines, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving offers an update on Auston Matthews' lower-body issue, confirming the star will miss the next two games at minimum.
Stolarz and Carlo were placed on the team's injured reserve two days apart (Stolarz on Nov. 11 and Carlo on Nov. 13). The goaltender is now eligible to come off IR at any point, however, we haven't seen him on the ice since suffering the injury. Carlo can come off IR on Friday.
Stolarz had six wins and an .884 save percentage through his first 13 games of the season before going down with an ailment.
"I think the workload caught up to him," said Treliving on Wednesday morning. "I think that he'd be the first to tell you his game dropped a little bit. I think it's tied a little bit into the number of starts he had, right? So our hope is that we get Anthony healthy."
'I Take Full Responsibility': GM Brad Treliving Speaks About Maple Leafs' Difficult Start To Season
Treliving fielded questions from reporters on Tuesday morning ahead of a matchup against the St. Louis Blues.
One other note: Sammy Blais left Tuesday's game after taking a hit and then spitting up blood on the Maple Leafs' bench. The good news is he was back on the ice on Wednesday, and said he's doing okay.
"We did some scans and I’m all good. It was a scary situation," he said.
Berube added, "Yeah, he should be fine."
If Laughton does return to the Maple Leafs, it's likely that Jacob Quillan, who made his season debut with the NHL club on Tuesday, comes out of the lineup. Quillan played nine minutes in Toronto's win against the Blues, and his speed impressed Berube.
If Laughton doesn't play, the Maple Leafs may roll out the same forward group they had on Tuesday night.
Nick Robertson - John Tavares - William Nylander
Bobby McMann - Max Domi - Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli - Jacob Quillan - Sammy Blais
Dakota Joshua - Steven Lorentz - Calle Jarnkrok
Latest stories: