Keefe shares cryptic comment about Mitch Marner, which is raising some major concerns
The Toronto Maple Leafs will once again be without star forward Mitch Marner when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. He suffered an unfortunate lower-body injury against the Boston Bruins on the 7th of March, ended up missing their most recent game two days later against the Montreal Canadiens, and hasn't been skating even with the extra days off in between matches.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe did not divulge much of anything earlier today when asked about Marner's status, so much so that his cryptic answer makes you wonder if there's cause for concern:
Marner hasn't missed many games throughout his career with the exception of 11 games in 2019-20 and 10 games in 2021-22, so his absence and the Maple Leafs remaining mum on his health status might raise red flags for the fan base.
The Leafs have been humming like a well-oiled machine with an 11-3-0 record over their last 14 games with 2 losses coming against Boston and the other against the Vegas Golden Knights. It's a welcomed sign after having gone 6-8-2 between December-January and Marner has been a key cog to their recent success with 11 assists and 14 points in his last 10 games.
In fact, you can go all the way back to the start of January and see that he's been consistently producing with 36 points in his last 25 games - and just 3 games where he's been held without a point.
If Marner is out beyond Thursday's matchup against the Flyers, the Maple Leafs will need continued success from Auston Matthews and William Nylander as well as their secondary options in Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi to keep the offense flowing.
The Leafs are currently stuck in no-man's land when it comes to the playoff picture as they are sitting firmly in third place in the Atlantic Divison and 8 points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, they are also 9 points back of the Boston Bruins for the 2nd spot - although, they carry 3 games in hand, so a trio of wins with those games could certainly change their fates a little bit in terms of coming into the playoffs with home ice advantage.
| POLL | ||
MARS 13 | 556 ANSWERS Keefe shares cryptic comment about Mitch Marner, which is raising some major concerns Did you find Keefe's comments on Mitch Marner on Wednesday concerning? | ||
| Yes, he's missed a week of action | 181 | 32.6 % |
| No, he'll be fine | 203 | 36.5 % |
| If he isn't ready for Saturday's game, then yes | 172 | 30.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
