Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
Maple Leafs' Mark Giordano Joins Team for Morning Skate, Remains 'Day-to-Day' And Won't Return From Injury Until After Holiday Break
Giordano skated with teammates for the first time since suffering a broken finger on Nov. 28.
BUFFALO — Mark Giordano has been spending the last week or so skating with conditioning staff but on Thursday the defenseman joined his teammates for their morning skate for the first time since sustaining a broken finger on Nov. 28 in a game against the Florida Panthers.
"He's been progressing, very well," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Giordano's recovery. "He won't play here before Christmas and the timeline points more towards him being day-to-day when we return from the Christmas Break."
The NHL schedule includes a holiday break where all hockey activities are shut down from December 24-26.
Keefe has cautioned in the past that returning for a morning skate isn't the same as returning for practice since the latter is more intensive and a better indicator of where the player is health-wise.
Giordano blocked a shot and left in the first period of the team's 2-1 shootout victory against Florida. The 40-year-old had seen an increase in minutes leading up to that game an injury to Timothy Liljegren forced the veteran to move up into a top-four role in November with his minutes climbing into the 20s.
It should be noted that Liljegren returned to the lineup without practicing as Toronto adjusted their routine to deal with a flu bug that had been going around.
But with Giordano's return to the lineup around the corner, it could be the first time all season that Toronto's defense is fully healthy in quite some time.
Of course, there are still games against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, followed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Giordano has a goal and four assists in 20 games this season and has averaged 17:52 of ice time.
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