This isn’t what the Toronto Maple Leafs want to see with the post-season quickly approaching.
Standout rookie blueliner Travis Dermott limped to the locker room after blocking a shot Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets.
Dermott took a Ben Chiarot slap shot off the inside of his left foot late in the first period and the 21-year-old hobbled to the Toronto bench, putting little to no weight on his left leg, before being assisted to the locker room. Dermott’s condition was not immediately known but he showed visible signs of pain and did not return to the game.
“That’s tough,” Leafs blueliner Jake Gardiner told reporters following the game. “You never want to see that. He was just standing in front and got hit by a shot. Didn’t look too good but hopefully he’ll be alright and be ready to go.”
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was mum on Dermott’s status after his team’s 3-1 loss.
“They’ll be doing scans and all that stuff,” Babcock said. “Who knows? They’ll tell me tomorrow. We have D, we’ll take a look at it. I don’t know if he is out for a bit, I don’t know anything about it to be honest with you. He had X-Rays and there was nothing and he’ll have whatever scans they do next and see how he’s feeling tomorrow. We’ll make a decision on it.”
A second-round pick of the Maple Leafs from 2015, Dermott had 13 points, a plus-17 rating and averaged 16:20 of ice-time heading into Saturday’s game.
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