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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without one of their best forwards for over three weeks, but that could soon change as Mitch Marner continues to inch closer to a return.
The 26-year-old participated in a full practice with the Leafs on Friday — his first since suffering a high ankle sprain in a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins back on March 7, according to NHL.com's Dave McCarthy.
“Mitch looked good today,” head coach Sheldon Keefe explained after Friday's practice, per McCarthy.
“In terms of the step for him I would say it’s just further participation in practice, which we won’t have another practice again until Tuesday. Once we get into that territory you start to think about when to put him back in, but we are not there yet.”
That confirms that Marner will miss at least the next two games: Saturday night in Western New York against the Buffalo Sabres, and Monday evening when the reeling Florida Panthers come to town.
He could be ready to return as soon as April 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but no official return date has been specified. Marner has been excellent for Toronto again in 2023-24, amassing 25 goals and 76 points in 62 games. He's missed nine games in a row with the high ankle sprain, and will be a huge boost whenever he can return to the Leafs lineup.
“It’s close, just take it day by day, just keep progressing the right way and be ready when the time comes,” the former first-round pick said on Friday, per McCarthy.
“We’re all competitive in here, we don’t want to miss games especially this late in the season so you can look at it that way (getting some rest before playoffs) and that’s how I’ve been trying to look at it.”
Leafs playing near .500 hockey without Mitch Marner
The Leafs have been good if unspectacular in Marner's absence; Toronto is 4-3-1 since March 7, the night of the ailment. After consecutive losses to the Carolina Hurricanes (2-1) and New Jersey Devils (6-3), the Buds got back on the right track with a convincing 5-1 triumph over Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals on Thursday night at home.
Now 41-22-9, the Leafs continue to occupy the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic Division, with the Tampa Bay Lightning sitting four points back with 10 games left in both teams' schedule.
The most probable outcome is Toronto finishing third and playing either the Panthers or Bruins in the first-round. It'll be an incredibly tough matchup either way.
As Mitch Marner remains on the shelf, so does key defenseman Morgan Rielly, who did not practice on Friday and will not suit up against the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday. He is still being labelled day-to-day. Timothy Liljegren is also out; he is week-to-week after missing Thursday's win against the Caps.
The Leafs re-signed blue liner Simon Benoit to a three-year, $4.05 million contract earlier this week. The 25-year-old has chipped in one goal and five points over 54 games with the team.
Puck drop for Leafs-Sabres is set for just past 7 p.m. ET on Hockey Night in Canada.
