TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares has been ruled out week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres, leaving the club to reshuffle after a 4-1 defeat to the New York Islanders on Saturday. The veteran had been producing at a point-per-game pace with seven points in seven games, and his absence comes on the heels of another veteran loss.
Head coach Jim Hiller addressed the blow after Saturday's morning skate, saying: "You know, John was playing well too. That's a tough one for us," Hiller said. "You know, just on the heels of (Tanev), too. So those are two veteran players, and you just got to find a way." Toronto have turned to centres Nick Paul and Colton Sissons for heavier responsibility. Paul, 31, skated as the second-line centre against the Islanders alongside Easton Cowan and Kirill Marchenko, and has four points including three assists in nine games while averaging 15:46 of ice time — close to his career mark of 15:22 across 546 games — having logged at least 17:05 in three of his last five outings before playing 14:36 on Saturday in a game where Toronto took only two penalties.
Sissons, 32, has two goals and three points in nine games while averaging 15:00, but has topped 16:50 in two of his past four matches and started Saturday alongside budding star Gavin McKenna, with Hiller also deploying him late with the goaltender pulled to win a faceoff on his strong side. McKenna himself is set for a promotion to the first power-play unit alongside Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Marchenko and Darren Raddysh after previously featuring on the second group. "Obviously John's a big piece," Easton Cowan said. "Unfortunately, you know, things like that happen. So I feel like just the next man up. We've got a lot of good players. So I'm just looking to, you know, get two points here tonight and keep it rolling."
General manager John Chayka has already created flexibility with the Maple Leafs' acquisition of Aatu Raty from the Canucks, a low-risk move that opened a roster spot and offers another centre option if the current group cannot seize the opportunity. Raty arrives as a change-of-scenery candidate who could provide cheap depth, though Toronto will first look to their existing blue-collar core to fill the void.
The Maple Leafs are well stocked with high-end talent, but how Paul, Sissons, McKenna and Raty respond will shape their standing in the Atlantic Division. The initial response was negative against the Islanders, yet with a softer schedule to close October, Toronto have a clear chance to stabilise before Tavares returns.