Ekman-Larsson left partway through Monday's practice because something was bugging him, Craig Berube said.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson should be in the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins. But there's a slight question mark around that statement after head coach Craig Berube's update on the defenseman following Monday's practice.
Ekman-Larsson exited the ice on Monday less than 15 minutes into Toronto's skate. It's unknown what led to the 34-year-old's departure, but it left the media wondering about his availability against the Bruins.
Berube was asked about Ekman-Larsson's status following Monday's practice. The head coach didn't have much of a concrete answer. His response was rather bizarre, actually.
Posed to Berube was this: What happened with Ekman-Larsson?
"Nothing. He's fine. Something was bugging him, so he left. That's it, really," Berube said. "He should be fine. I really don't know. I haven't talked to the trainers yet. I was just told he's fine. He should be fine tomorrow."
So what Berube is saying is that something was bugging Ekman-Larsson enough for him to leave practice early. However, he should be fine.
But who told him this?
It wasn't the trainers because, well, he said he hadn't spoken to them yet.
Was it Ekman-Larsson himself? Berube didn't say that it was, so it's safe to assume the update didn't come from the player. Whoever Berube received the update from, though, seemed pretty certain that Ekman-Larsson is "fine."
The defenseman was on the Maple Leafs' flight to Boston late Monday afternoon — per the Maple Leafs' X account — so Berube is likely right in saying he "should be fine" for their game against the Bruins.
But the update on his status was rather odd.
Maybe he got his words jumbled. It happens. I can't imagine it's always the easy fielding questions from us reporters in Toronto.
With Ekman-Larsson absent from practice, the Maple Leafs operated these defense pairings:
Morgan Rielly - Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe - Troy Stecher
Simon Benoit - Philippe Myers
Ekman-Larsson is yet to miss a game this season for injury-related reasons. He was out of the lineup for two games ahead of the NHL's trade deadline because Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving was seeing what was out there in regards to a trade.
The only other game Ekman-Larsson missed — on Mar. 15 against the Minnesota Wild — was because he returned home to be with his wife for the birth of their second son.
Because of his good health and strong play this season, Ekman-Larsson leads all Maple Leafs defenders with eight goals and 35 points in 68 games, two points ahead of Morgan Rielly, who's in the second spot.
He's arguably been Toronto's most important player this season, and it would be unfortunate if he misses any time at this juncture. But we should all know more about his status around the Maple Leafs' optional skate in Boston on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. ET.