Toronto Maple Leafs Down 2 Top-Four Defensemen

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin missed practice on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a concussion. Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters the incident occurred during Saturday's game in St Louis as Muzzin was hit by Klim Kostin.

Muzzin was shaken up before the goal from this hit by Klim Kostin pic.twitter.com/NdSAgJgmD4

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 16, 2022

Toronto is on route to New York to take on the Rangers Wednesday night and will be doing so without their second-pair d-man. Muzzin didn't travel with the team and isn't expected to be available at all this week. After facing off against the Rangers at MSG, the Leafs play the New York Islanders on Saturday night. 

While Muzzin sits to rehab his concussion the Maple Leafs also placed his defense partner Justin Holl in COVID-19 protocol over the weekend. It's going to be a great week for the likes of Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren and Travis Dermott to step up and show the coaching staff they can handle big minutes under the bright lights. Alex Biega is also expected to suit up on the bottom pair as he tries to work himself into a depth rotation role for the Maple Leafs.

Keefe and his coaching staff now have to replace some serious minutes and will do so by committee. They'll also lean heavy on their top-pair of Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie, and expect to see those two in the high 20-minutes per game in each of the two contests later this week.

Leafs Nation has been yelling at the television an awful lot at Muzzin and Holl this season according to social media rants so this will be fun to watch this week to see what transpires in Toronto without the beloved second pair.

Photo credit : Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports