Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews left practice early on Friday after some friendly fire when he took a puck off his left foot. Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe says Matthews is ‘fine’. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Morgan Rielly for a minimum of 10 games and 24 days after the team announced they have placed the defenseman on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) with a knee injury. Rielly collided with New York Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri in the third period of the Maple Leafs 3-2 overtime loss on Monday. According to TSN Hockey’s Darren Dreger, there are rumblings that Rielly suffered a Grade 1 or 2 MCL strain and that he could be out somewhere in the neighbourhood of four-to-six weeks. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Rielly doesn’t require surgery and there is no firm timeline outside of the minimum required by being placed on LTIR. The loss of Rielly is a tough blow for the Leafs who are already depleted on defense. Jake Muzzin is out indefinitely with a cervical spine injury and will be re-evaluated in late February. TJ Brodie isn’t progressing as fast as the Leafs had hoped as he deals with an oblique injury. “Each time we’ve lost a guy and then for a moment maybe you think, oh that sucks,” Keefe said of his depleted defense corps. “It seems like our team plays better." The good news is Brodie was on the ice on Tuesday before the team took the ice for practice working with a skills coach. Much of the movement focused on side-to-side movement. Given that Rielly is on LTIR, the earliest he’d be eligible to return to action would be Dec. 17 when the Maple Leafs visit the Washington Capitals. In the meantime, the Maple Leafs are going to have to replace Rielly’s minutes by committee. Thirty-nine-year-old Mark Giordano is expected to see an increase in his minutes. The Leafs have called up Victor Mete and Mac Hollowell on Tuesday. Mete has played in five games with the Leafs this season while Hollowell has yet to play in an NHL game despite being called up by the club at various points over the last few seasons. The 28-year-old Rielly has 16 assists in 20 games this season. Freed up cap space With Rielly on LTIR, the Leafs free up his $7.5 million cap hit. They could decide to use that space to try and find a replacement for the defenseman. However, the Leafs would have to get the space back when Rielly returns. Given the nature of the injury, this doesn’t seem like the type of situation where the injury could extend beyond the regular season, making the ability to use his cap hit difficult. New defense pairs With Rielly out, the Maple Leafs rolled out new defense pairs at practice. Based on line rushes, Mac Hollowell appears set to make his NHL debut on Wednesday when the team visits the New Jersey Devils With Rielly out, Mark Giordano is expected to see more minutes. In the past, Keefe has said he was reluctant to lean to heavily on the 39-year-old, but the veteran defenseman is embracing the opportunity. Rasmus Sandin is expected to fill Rielly’s role on the top power-play unit. While Giordano is expected to slot in on the second unit.
