Good News:Mitch Marners Returns To Practice Squad As He Is Expected To…
Mitch Marner participated in his first full practice since sustaining a high ankle sprain in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 7, but is expected to miss at least the next two games.
“Mitch looked good today,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “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.”
The forward, who has 76 points (25 goals, 51 assists) in 62 games, has missed the past nine games because of the injury. The Maple Leafs will visit the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNP, SNO, CBC) before hosting the Florida Panthers on Monday.
“It’s close, just take it day by day, just keep progressing the right way and be ready when the time comes,” Marner said. “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.”
Defenseman Morgan Rielly did not practice Friday and will not play against the Sabres. He remains day to day with an upper-body injury.
Defenseman Timothy Liljegren, who did not play in a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, is week to week with an upper-body injury.
Toronto also signed Simon Benoit to a three-year, $4.05 million contract ($1.35 average annual value).
The 25-year-old defenseman has five points (one goal, four assists) in 54 games with Toronto this season. He signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 28, 2023.