Update on Jake McCabe Not Good News; Maple Leafs Recall Defenceman From Marlies
The Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Jake McCabe for at least the next week after the club placed him on IR on Monday and recalled a Marlies defenseman.
In the final minutes of the first period Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers, McCabe took exception to Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway bumping into Dennis Hildeby. McCabe and Hathaway exchanged some words before dropping the gloves in a tilt that saw McCabe lose his balance and fall awkwardly.
The fall caused McCabe's head to hit the ice rather violently, leaving the 31-year-old dazed, sitting on the ice.
After being evaluated by the medical staff, McCabe was thankfully able to skate off under his own power but did not return to the game.
TSN's Darren Dreger expected the Leafs to take their time with McCabe's diagnosis which was confirmed by the Leafs placing the Wisconsin native on injured reserve Monday afternoon.
In placing McCabe on injured reserve, the Leafs made a corresponding move, recalling Marshall Rifai from the Toronto Marlies.
Rifai signed a two-year extension with the Leafs during training camp and although he has been recalled by the Leafs a handful of times this season, has yet to skate in a game with the blue and white.
It would appear that his recall right now is to give Craig Berube an additional option on the blueline as Jani Hakanpaa continues to recover from knee surgery, leaving only Conor Timmins as the other replacement for McCabe.
Given how conservative the Leafs have been with injuries this season and the fact McCabe missed five games in December after taking a puck to the neck, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see him remain on injured reserve after the minimum 10 days passes.
In 36 games for the Leafs this season, the former second-round pick has registered 1 goal and 11 points, but has been an integral part of the Leafs' penalty kill and shutdown pairing with Chris Tanev, registering 68 blocks and 72 hits while playing just under 21 minutes a night.
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