Mark Giordano 'Definitely Close' to Returning to From Broken Finger and When He's Expected to Return to Maple Leafs' Lineup
The 40-year-old has been out of the lineup since late November with a broken finger.
Mark Giordano is inching closer to make his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup, but he will not play when his club hosts the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
"We'll get him a full practice day tomorrow," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said following the team's morning skate. "A full practice day with the group and make a decision [on his playing status for Dec. 29 vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets] from there."
Giordano has been skating with the team for the last week or so. Keefe indicated last week that the 40-year-old defenseman wasn't expected to return to the lineup until after the holiday break, which took place from Dec. 24-26.
On Nov. 28, Giordano suffered a broken finger in the first period of the team's 2-1 shootout victory against the Florida Panthers. His injury occurred when key players at the position (like Timothy Liljegren) were also out of the lineup and the veteran was asked to take on more minutes.
The team's defensive corps is fully healthy outside of Giordano. As a result, the Leafs don't have a real urgency to bring back the defenseman immediately. They will dress the same lineup against the Sens that they did in their previous game, which resulted in a 4-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 23.
Giordano has a goal and four assists in 20 games with the Leafs this season. The oldest player in the NHL, the Toronto native is averaging 17:52 of ice time in 2023-24.
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