Unfortunate news for Maple Leafs' John Tavares regarding his injury status

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Chris Gerics
September 27, 2024 (11:28)

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After being taken down by a cheap hit last night during the Leafs preseason game vs. Montreal, John Tavares' status has been updated and it's not good.

During the first period of the Toronto Maple Leafs preseason game vs. the Montreal Canadiens, center John Tavares was trying to corral a puck from goaltender Anthony Stolarz, and once receiving it and passing it out of his own zone, Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta flew in and took out the lower half of Tavares in an unprovoked and disturbing cheap shot:

Tavares was slow to get up and skated gingerly over to the bench and took some time to recover. Many believed it was just to be a charley horse, and Tavares was seen back on the ice much sooner than many thought and he even opened up the scoring for Toronto:

https://www.nhl.com/video/mtl-tor-tavares-scores-goal-against-jakub-dobes-6362518445112

But news on Friday put that bright spot into a dim shadow as it was announced today that Tavares was not skating and he was listed as day-to-day along with Alex Steeves and Calle Jarnkrok:

It's an unfortunate situation and it's one of many for the Maple Leafs in the past few weeks. Auston Matthews has been out for a few days, Fraser Minten is still recovering from a rough injury; Jani Hakanpaa is dealing with his knee issues as well as William Nylander, who took a spill last night after a careless nudge from teammate Nick Robertson.

The loss of Tavares for any length of time would be a massive hit to a Maple Leafs team who desperately needs to stay healthy in order to find that success that's eluded them for so long. Coming off another strong season, Tavares has been nothing but advertised since signing with Toronto, scoring 184 goals and 235 assists in 440 games with the Maple Leafs, and has been their leader and captain for the last six seasons; a role he relinquished in name only and will continue to help new captain Matthews lead this new era of Maple Leafs.

It's unfortunate for Toronto and Tavares, and one can only hope it's not too serious. We will update you with more information on John Tavares' injury as news develops.