Marner out for at least a month with ankle injury

The Leafs announced tonight during the Leafs-Blackhawks game that @Mitch Marner will be out with an ankle injury, and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

The injury was sustained during the second period of last night’s game vs. the Flyers, after falling on his right leg off the opening faceoff.

Some have mentioned the potential of it being a high ankle injury, which even when healed, can take a while to fully recover, so even after his return, it might be a while before we get Mitch at 100%.

However, with the minimum of four weeks for a recovery time, Marner will be placed on LTIR, and the Leafs cap crunch will be prolonged for another month or so, even if Zach Hyman returns.

This injury comes at the worst time for the Leafs (not that there is ever a good time for an injury to one of your top forwards), as they were riding their first three game win streak of the season going into the game vs. the Flyers, and were also really close to having a full lineup with Hyman’s return.

Marner was off to another strong start for the Leafs, as he had four goals and 18 points for the Leafs in his first 18 games.

However, the cap relief comes with some room to experiment a bit more, perhaps even get a much needed backup goalie, since it’s clear that Hutchinson isn’t going to excel in the role.