Thankfully, when Marner was given a day-to-day timeline this weekend, followed by the update from TSN's Darren Dreger on Monday, suggesting that Marner's injury is not serious, it definitely helped to calm everyone down.
The Leafs are off until Thursday, which will give Marner plenty of time to recover from whatever he had tweaked in Boston last week. It will also give the Leafs some time to re-evaluate the former 4th overall pick from 2015. Unfortunately, as Sheldon Keefe reported on Monday, Marner's prognosis ahead of Thursday's game against Philadelphia is not good.
Keefe met with the media on Monday following practice and informed everyone present that it was unlikely that we'll see Marner back in action on Thursday, even with the additional time off.
With Marner out of the lineup on Thursday, his next opportunity to return to the lineup won't come until Saturday when the team returns home to host the Carolina Hurricanes, fresh off of a very successful deadline for the Canes, who added Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel this past week.
For Marner, it's important to ensure that he takes the time he needs to get back to 100%. With the playoffs just around the corner, the Leafs will need all hands on deck to beat whoever is put in front of them. At this point, their most likely first round opponent is one of Florida or Boston, so prioritizing Marner's health right now is the smart decision.
Marner will remain listed as day-to-day, though it's entirely possible that we don't see him back in the lineup until next week.
POLL | ||
MARS 11 | 412 ANSWERS Leafs drop unfortunate update on superstar forward Who would you rathere see the Leafs play in Round 1 this season? | ||
Boston | 188 | 45.6 % |
Florida | 37 | 9 % |
New York | 187 | 45.4 % |
Carolina | 0 | 0 % |
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