The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that center, and newly appointed captain, John Tavares is sidelined for a minimum of two weeks with a broken finger. He will be re-evaluated after those two weeks.
The @MapleLeafs announced today that centre John Tavares sustained a broken finger late in last night’s game in Washington.
He will be out of the lineup for a minimum of two weeks, at which point he will be reassessed by the team's medical staff.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 17, 2019
John Tavares Injured
Tavares sustained the injury late into Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals after taking a Morgan Rielly point shot to the hand.
So far this season, Tavares has scored three goals and four assists for seven points to go along with two minutes in penalties in eight games. His possession numbers were 57.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 0.2.
Over his 11-year NHL career, John Tavares has played for the New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has 322 goals and 394 assists for 716 career points in 759 career games. He was originally drafted by the Islanders in the 1st round, 1st overall in the 2009 NHL draft.
What This Means for the Future
Tavares was recently appointed to be captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and has only played in eight games since then. While his line has struggled at 5v5 this season, things were looking up when Trevor Moore replaced Kasperi Kapanen at left-wing. The Leafs will have to find someone to take the role of Tavares between Mitch Marner and Trevor Moore. The most logical idea would be having Alexander Kerfoot playing on the Marner line. Jason Spezza and Frederik Gauthier could play 3rd and 4th line center, instead of splitting time at the 4th line role.
Tavares also holds a spot on the top powerplay unit, where he will have to be replaced. William Nylander has been effective offensively for the team this season, and with Tavares out, this could be his opportunity to play on the top unit. Tavares is a key piece of this Leafs team, and they will hope he is recovered sooner rather than later.
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