"Half of the team is injured": Maple Leafs fans left concerned as Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty and Max Domi placed on Injured Reserve

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Nov 20, 2024 16:13 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed three players on Injured Reserve (IR), raising concerns among fans. Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Max Domi are all sidelined due to injuries.

Matthews has an undisclosed injury and is expected to miss some time. Since he is the captain of the Leafs, his absence is a big setback. Pacioretty, who got placed on long-term IR on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury, won’t be back until at least December 7. Domi was placed on IR retroactive to November 16 with a lower-body injury. His injury further weakens the Leafs’ forward lineup.

In response to these injuries, the Leafs recalled Nikita Grebenkin from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) to help with depth.

Fans on social media are worried and expressed their concerns in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Toronto Maple Leafs media relations department on Wednesday.

“Bro, half of the team is injured.” One fan commented.

"So JT, Mitch and Willy all gonna play about 25 mins tonight, right?" a fan questioned.

"The boys are being held together with passion and duct tape at this point. Holy." one fan wrote.

Here are some more reactions from fans on the Maple Leafs' rising injured players list:

"Honestly, this will be a good test Robertson in t6 last chance to get going 2 rookies coming in to earn spots, a very good chance for Steeves to prove himself." a fan shared his opinion.

"Great opportunity for some young guys to step up and take a spot on the team, excited to watch them play tonight, go leafs go" another shared.

'I was just thinking ‘I wonder what a sheltered Marlies’ 3rd line would look like’ and how we’ll probably never find out…" one fan wrote.

Toronto Maple Leafs placed Max Pacioretty on LTIR: Report

The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Max Pacioretty on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) on Tuesday to make room for Fraser Minten, as reported by PuckPedia. Pacioretty is out due to a lower-body injury from a November 9 game against Montreal. The injury means he will miss at least 10 games and 24 days. The Leafs expect him to return by mid-December.

To make space for Minten, the team also moved David Kampf to Injured Reserve. Minten, who had a strong AHL performance, will join the NHL roster. This will be his second call-up after a brief stint earlier in the season. Before his injury, Pacioretty had 6 points in 13 games. Minten has 4 points in 5 AHL games this season.