Joffrey Lupul placed on IR, Rich Clune called up

It looks like Joffrey Lupul’s nagging ailment needs a little moe than temporary rest. At least, that’s what today’s roster decisions would have you believe, as the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed him on injured reserve for the duration of their Western Conference road trip. To fill the void, they’ve also called up Richard Clune from the Toronto Marlies.

As we mentioned in our post on Sunday, this is the tenth occasion in Lupul’s tenure with the Leafs that he’s missed time due to an injury. The minimum seven-day placement on Injured Reserve rules him out for Toronto’s games against Winnipeg, Minnesota, and St. Louis. Lupul has yet to play a full season with the team and has missed over a third of their games since he separated his shoulder in April 2012.

This is Clune’s second call up to the Leafs this year. The 28-year-old Toronto native signed an AHL contract with the Marlies in July and worked his way into an NHL deal after a great stretch on a line with rookies Nikita Soshnikov and Frederik Gauthier. His first stint didn’t go overly well; he was pointless in two games and was effectively benched after taking a five-minute boarding major against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 31st.

Since heading back down the Marlies, Clune has struggled to rejoin the scoresheet, picking up just one assist in seven November games and taking only seven shots. While he’s focused more on the forecheck and being a nuisance than being a full-out enforcer this year, Clune’s mean side came out on Sunday, when he got into two fights; the first of which without his opponent taking off his gloves or throwing a punch. Clune received 32 penalty minutes that afternoon, which would be nearly 20% of the Leafs’ full season total. 

The Leafs will return to the ice on Wednesday night against Winnipeg while the Marlies try to snap their only losing streak so far this season against Rochester on Friday.