Ryan O’Reilly Joins Maple Leafs for Morning Skate For the First Time Since Injury

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward joined his teammates for an optional morning skate for the first time since breaking his finger in a game against the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan O’Rielly is making progress in his recovery from a broken finger and joined his teammates for the team’s optional skate ahead of their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

"Yesterday was his first time really handing and shooting pucks and today again he’s taking another step out here," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of O'Reilly. "Certainly, he’s making his way back."

O'Reilly had been skating in Toronto over the last week or so but the Leafs brought him to Florida midway through the road trip so he can continue the recovery process.

He took the ice on Friday in Raleigh while the rest of the team had the day off and that's when he was able to handle and shoot pucks for the first time.

O'Reilly was injured on Mar. 4 when he was the recipient of some friendly fire from teammate Auston Matthews and broke his finger. A few days later, Keefe announced a timeline of four weeks of recovery, which would put the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner's return sometime into early April.

"He’s feeling better, but they’re going to be very cautious with it, Keefe said of O'Reilly. "It’s one thing to be handling pucks and shooting, but the contact, especially for a center taking faceoffs and such. They’re going to take the time to make sure the finger has appropriate time to heal and minimize any sort of risk of re-injury."

The Leafs acquired the 2019 Stanley Cup winner from the St. Louis Blues along with Noel Acciari for four draft picks (including a first-rounder in 2023) and players Adam Gaudette and Mikhail Abramov.

The 32-year-old O'Reilly has three goals and two assists in eight games since joining the Leafs.

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