The plot thickens.

After Joffrey Lupul made some interesting comments on Instagram earlier this week, Lupul seemed to waive the white flag when he made a formal apology on Twitter yesterday. But, this situation makes another sudden turn, as Lupul will be getting an independent medical exam to determine his health status.

What this means for the Leafs is unknown, but Lupul’s purpose on this whole situation continues to be unclear. With the Instagram comments, Lupul seemed to be starting a silent revolution against the new Leafs regime, especially since he feels like he’s fit to play. But, the apology seemed to be a surrender of sorts, whether or not it was his own idea. Perhaps it was the Players’ Association telling him that this isn’t a good look for him, or maybe the league/Leafs had a talk with him. After that, it seemed like the situation was mostly resolved.

But, this exam shows that there isn’t a resolution yet. Lupul clearly wants to fight for this, but it’s just a matter of what the Leafs do.

It’ll mainly depend on how the exam actually goes. If it turns out he is healthy, then the Leafs may have to play him this year, or at least have him on one of their rosters. If he isn’t, then the fight was for nothing.

There’s the possibility that the Leafs could buy him out, giving them a $1.25 million cap hit for this and next year, but I think Lupul might want to avoid that if he wants to lose out on that $1.25 million.

Whether the situation worsens because of this, or it gets settled will be determined by the results of the exam, so only time will tell. The Leafs probably just hope that this doesn’t turn into a distraction for the rest of the players.