Toronto Maple Leafs Make Emergency Roster Move to Replace John Tavares
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made an emergency move with the sudden loss of star forward John Tavares.
The Leafs lost Tavares to injury in a practice session after colliding with defenseman Simon Benoit.
The team has confirmed that Tavares has been placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss tonight's game against the New Jersey Devils, with it unknown when the Leafs assistant captain will return to action.
After a down year last season in Toronto, Tavares has shown a strong resurgence with the 34-year-old having 20 goals and 42 points in 44 games this season for the Leafs.
In the meantime, to fill the hole left by the absence of Tavares in the Leafs lineup, Toronto has made an emergency recall at forward.
Leafs Recall Top Prospect Fraser Minten To Replace John Tavares
The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled forward Fraser Minten from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Minten has two goals and four points in 11 game this season for Toronto, as well as 10 points in 16 games for the Marlies in the AHL.
Despite strong performances in the NHL for the Leafs this season, Minten was sent back down to the minors and has continued to be impactful while in the AHL with the Marlies, being a consistent top player for the club at just 20 years old.
Tavares is expected to be out for at least a week, although it's unclear if the rookie Minten will be the full-time forward for that time period in the wake of Tavares being sidelined from the team.
It's unclear if Minten will appear in tonight's game vs the Devils, with lines not having yet been announced, although Minten has appeared in an optional skate for the team since being called up.
Minten was a second round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, 38th overall.
