Three Maple Leafs players dealing with injuries late in preseason

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a handful of injuries as they approach their final preseason game. The group is notably led by winger Nicholas Robertson, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per David Alter of The Hockey News. Robertson has been among Toronto’s biggest standouts this preseason, netting a team-leading three goals through four appearances. 

Toronto has been vocal about Robertson’s chance to earn more ice time this season as it looks to fill the void left by 20-goal scorer Tyler Bertuzzi, who moved to the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. Robertson has stifled through menial NHL roles for the past three seasons with the 2023-24 campaign representing his only full year with the Leafs. He’s so far totaled 34 points, split evenly, in 87 career appearances.

Robertson will be joined on the absentee list by defender Jake McCabe (upper body) and utility forward Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), who are bearing through day-to-day injuries of their own, per a team announcement. Both players have only played in two games this preseason, and neither scored a point.

McCabe proved the healthier of the two in 2023-24, though a groin injury held him out of nine games in the year’s first half. He scored a career-high eight goals and 28 points in his remaining 73 games while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Jarnkrok’s role wasn’t as substantial, instead spending his time rotating through the team’s third line. He recorded 10 goals and 21 points in 52 games, near-perfectly half of his scoring totals from last year.

All three players seem to be locks for Toronto’s lineup when healthy, plenty of reason to be cautious with just one preseason matchup against Detroit remaining on their calendar. They’ll now each look to heal quickly in preparation for the Leafs’ season opener against Montreal on Oct. 9.