Leafs confirm the worst for Simmonds, three injured Leafs return to practice, Sandin in on Monday

The Leafs have confirmed the worst for veteran forward Wayne Simmonds on Monday, as Sheldon Keefe told the media following Monday's practice that Simmonds has a broken wrist, as a result of being hit with a hard clearing attempt during Saturday night's contest against the Canucks.

What a tough break for both the team and the player, as the Leafs looked to have a very balanced group up front, with Simmonds taking spot duty on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines, as well as on the power play. His timeline for recovery is, as previously reported, approximately six weeks.

Simmonds has registered 5 goals for the Leafs through the club's first 12 games of the season, enjoying a bit of a career resurgence after struggling in recent years with the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.

The news wasn't all bad on Monday, as injured Leafs Joe Thornton, Nick Robertson and Travis Dermott all skated on Monday, with Thornton taking reps alongside John Tavares and William Nylander on the team's 2nd line.

Though Thornton and Robertson are not yet eligible to come off of IR just yet, it is encouraging to see them back out on the ice, and making strides toward an eventual return.

Defenseman Travis Dermott looks to be making progress in coming back from a lower-body ailment, but it would appear as though he will sit out Monday's series wrap-up with Vancouver, missing his second straight game for the Buds. He projects to return as soon as Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Dermott's loss is prospect Rasmus Sandin's gain, as the 20-year-old will make his first appearance of the season for the Leafs, who will roll with the 11F-7D lineup that they have employed at points earlier this season.

Sandin has not played a game in the NHL in the last 335 days, so it's safe to say the native of Uppsala, Sweden is excited to get going this season and make his presence felt against the Canucks.

As a side note, Auston Matthews comes into Monday's game against the Canucks riding a 7-game, 9-goal scoring streak. Vancouver's defensive efforts will need to be much better in Toronto in order to avoid having the Arizona native extend his goal-scoring streak to 8 games.

Matthews currently leads the NHL in goals with 10 in just 11 games to start the season.

MUST READ

30 minutes ago  |  By Tyler Ball Edmonton Oilers Analyst Believes the Team Should Pursue Top-10 NHL Scoring Defenseman

2 hours ago  |  By TJ Tucker Young Goaltender Max Akerson Tragically Passes Away From Terminal Disease

3 hours ago  |  By TJ Tucker Patrik Laine Involved in Scary Knee-to-Knee Collision With Teammate During Practice

7 hours ago  |  By Tom Banks Columbus Blue Jackets Place Massive 6-Foot-5 Centre on the NHL Waiver Wire

8 hours ago  |  By Tom Banks Elliotte Friedman Links Montreal Canadiens Top-Five Pick to a Metro Team in Unexpected Trade Rumour

9 hours ago  |  By Daniel Lucente Chicago Bears Fire Head Coach Matt Eberflus After the Official City Account Demands He Be Replaced

10 hours ago  |  By Julien Trekker New York Rangers Reportedly Pursuing Trade for 100-Point Western Conference Forward

11 hours ago  |  By Julien Trekker Toronto Maple Leafs Run Into Major Obstacle With Mitch Marner Contract Talks

MORE STORIES