John Tavares to Miss Start of Season to Injury

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe announced today that captain John Tavares will miss three weeks due to an oblique strain, per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic.

Tavares, 32, is entering his 14th NHL season and fourth as the Leafs' captain. The Maple Leafs are going to have some holes in their lineup to start the season. On top of Tavares' news, restricted free agent holdout Rasmus Sandin still needs a deal, and Jake Muzzin is out with a minor, undisclosed injury to start camp. Muzzin is, however, expected to join the team for camp tomorrow (Wednesday), per Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

For the understatement of the century, Tavares is a serious loss for Toronto. Every game counts -- especially in the revitalized Atlantic Division -- and the Leafs cannot afford to leave points on the board due to injury; see the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

On top of being the Leafs' captain, Tavares is a major source of offense for Sheldon Keefe, while providing across-the-board dominance; well, aside from the whole defense thing, but who needs that with Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov between the pipes?

Tavares' timeline suggests a return some time around the team's west-coast roadtrip starting in Winnipeg on October 22. In which case, Tavares is set to miss at least five games, barring an early return.

Fortunately for Toronto, their organizational depth is exceptional, and they have a couple of players capable of propping up the lineup in the short-term. But once injuries start piling up, even the deepest teams can have their playoff hopes crushed.

Model: JFresh, TDH

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