The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without John Tavares as he suffered an oblique strain over the weekend. The captain will miss the next three weeks and has been ruled out of any game action during that time, according to multiple media sources out of Toronto.
Because the Maple Leafs are set to open up their schedule on October 12, (15 days from now), that means Tavares will miss some of the regular season. It isn’t a lot of time and it won’t equate to many games, but he’s an important part of their lineup and the time missed simply sets him back in terms of potentially slotting in and being effective.
Tavares scored 76 points in 79 games last season. While that’s a strong season, he’s become a player that some see as not necessarily worth his big contract. Missing games or having an injury early on won’t help his cause among fans who are already looking at Tavares as one of the main reasons the cap situation in Toronto is as tight as it is. As one Twitter user said, “Hopefully this is one of those “abundance of caution” things.”
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