Leafs reveal Mark Giordano's replacement in the lineup, barring a trade
Late in the first period of the Maple Leafs' shootout victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano blocked a shot that ultimately led to the Panthers scoring the opening goal of the game. Following the Panthers goal, Giordano proceeded to go to the Leafs dressing room in some discomfort and would not return for the rest of the game.
During his post-game press conference, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe provided a vague update regarding Giordano's injury saying that he was going to miss some time. Today, Sheldon Keefe provided a further update on the league's elder-statesman, saying that Giordano won't play tomorrow and the team is waiting for tests to come back on his hand to determine just how much time he'll miss.
Barring any sort of urgent trade made by Brad Treliving, Keefe has said that William Lagesson will take Giordano's place in the lineup for at least tomorrow's game. The Leafs were already without John Klingberg and Timothy Liljegren due to significant injuries and adding Giordano to that list effectively means that the Leafs are without half of their top-six defensemen in the lineup. For a team that has struggled defensively so far this season, it's certainly not a good thing.
Once the Leafs have a clearer timeline of how long Giordano will be out, it should give us an idea as to the level of urgency that Brad Treliving will feel to acquire a capable defenseman that can eat up some important minutes.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 29 | 681 ANSWERS Leafs reveal Mark Giordano's replacement in the lineup, barring a trade Will the Leafs trade for defenseman before the Christmas break? | ||
| Yes | 475 | 69.8 % |
| No | 206 | 30.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
