Darren Dreger just reported that Morgan Rielly's injury should keep him out no longer than a week, and that the Maple Leafs defenseman is in the day-to-day category.
That's a relief for a Toronto team that has lost three straight and sits 20th in the NHL. Rielly left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury and missed Sunday's game against the Devils.
Dreger's quote, passed along by FirstUp1050, was short and to the point: "He's in a category of day-to-day." Nothing in that suggests a long-term issue.
Rielly is listed as day-to-day, and the latest injury report has him out until at least Nov. 10. That date is an estimate, not a return date, so nobody should pencil him in for Tuesday just yet.
We covered Jim Hiller calling the injury a big blow on Saturday. Hiller's word choice made sense once you look at what Rielly has been doing this season.
The 32-year-old has 12 points in 18 games, all of them assists. He was in the middle of a quiet rebuild of his season, one Luke Fox highlighted just last week.
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Can the Maple Leafs afford more time without Rielly?
They are already feeling it. Toronto was shut out 4-0 by New Jersey on Sunday, with Connor Hellebuyck stopping all 23 shots he faced, and the Leafs were also missing Chris Tanev on that night.
A week would mean a handful of games. With a 8-9-2 record and a goal differential of 0, Toronto is not in a spot where it can shrug off a top-pair defenseman for long. The depth on the back end gets tested every shift when the minutes pile onto fewer players.
My read is that the Leafs should hold Rielly out until he's fully ready. One more game without him costs less than a re-aggravated injury that turns a week into a month, especially with the standings this tight and the club sitting 7th in the Atlantic.
Toronto hosts Colorado on Tuesday, and Rielly's status for that one is the next update to watch.
Quick hits
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Joseph Woll gets the call on the second night of the Vancouver trip, according to RotoWireNHL. A fresh goalie for the back half of the set makes sense.
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COLORADO AVALANCHE: Still no word on Cale Makar this morning, a day after he left practice in pain. That's an anxious wait in Denver.
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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Jon Cooper says Brayden Point "might miss some time" after leaving Sunday's game in Winnipeg and not returning. Not the update Tampa wanted.
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NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Connor Hrabchak is hinting at a David Rittich recall with Anthony Mantha hurt. The Connor Hellebuyck saga also has a new wrinkle.
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OTTAWA SENATORS: Bruce Garrioch reports Linus Ullmark is ready to return to the Senators' net. Ottawa gets its goalie back.
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Should the Maple Leafs sit Morgan Rielly until he's 100 percent, even if it costs them another game?
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