Leafs provide several injury updates following Saturday's morning skate; Robertson cleared

The Toronto Maple Leafs provided some updates on a few of the missing pieces in their lineup on Saturday, ahead of the team's tilt against the Montreal Canadiens.

Much to the delight of Leafs fans, winger Nick Robertson has been cleared to play after recovering from a knee injury that he sustained during his regular season debut against the Ottawa Senators back in mid-January. The kicker here is that, rather than returning to the Leafs lineup, Robertson has been assigned to the AHL Toronto Marlies - who open their season on Monday when they visit the Manitoba Moose.

Though this may be deflating to some, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has already confirmed that it will not be long before Robertson returns to the Leafs' lineup.

Joe Thornton, who had also been skating with the Leafs for the past week or so has not yet been cleared to play, so he will remain out of action, though he does appear close.

As TSN's Kristen Shilton reports, Thornton has been progressing very well, and will practice with the team again on Sunday. Jumbo could be in line to make his return at some point this coming week if things continue to trend in the right direction.

In possibly the most exciting update for Leafs fans, who have completely endeared goaltender Jack Campbell, the 29-year-old was back on the ice on Saturday, as he skated for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury against the Calgary Flames on January 24th.

With load-management for Frederik Andersen being an area that the Leafs looked to improve on in 2020-21, Sheldon Keefe was expected to rely on his backup goaltender to carry a bit more of the load this season.

Campbell looked sharp in two starts for the Leafs this season, carrying a 2.00 GAA and a .923 SV%, winning both outings and giving Leafs fans some hope in the club's ability to run with a competent goaltending tandem this season.

According to Keefe, Andersen wouldn't have had to play as many consecutive games as he did had Campbell been healthy - so it is extremely good news for the Buds, knowing that Campbell can't be too far away from returning.

The Leafs are off to a remarkable, league-leading 11-2-1 start, amassing 23 points and leading the Boston Bruins by a single point, with Boston having one game in hand.

Unfortunately, there is no update on Wayne Simmonds at this time, but his original timeline of being sidelined for at least six weeks looks to remain the same. Simmonds suffered a broken wrist on February 6th against the Vancouver Canucks after taking a hard clearing attempt off the hand. It is unlikely that we see the "Wayne Train" before the second half of March.

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