After injuring his neck in the final game of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Rasmus Sandin
was transferred to the wounded reserve. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe explained Wednesday that the team will reevaluate him after the Christmas break, meaning IR’s shutdown doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be out of action for long. Sandin is out for at least seven days, but the Maple Leafs won’t return until December 27 after Thursday afternoon’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
In their place, the team recalls Mac Hollowell from minor leagues. Hollowell, 24, played six games with the Leafs earlier this season as they were facing a number of defensive injuries and has excelled in the minor leagues with 10 points from 13 games for the Toronto Marlies.
Unfortunately for Hollowell, the group also recently activated Jordie Benn, who will replace Sandin in the lineup on Thursday. The club is not there yet Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, Victor Mete and Carl Dahlstrom but still showed solid defense. Toronto is second in terms of goals conceded for the year, conceding only 79 goals in 33 games.
Part of that success is the strong play of Sandin, who regularly kicks more than 20 minutes in Rielly’s absence. The 22-year-old was picked in 29th place overall in 2018 and has played 121 regular-season games so far in his career.
