Maple Leafs’ Max Pacioretty out week-to-week with lower-body injury

Maple Leafs’ Max Pacioretty out week-to-week with lower-body injury
Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their veteran depth forwards for the next few weeks.

The team announced Monday that Max Pacioretty has been placed on injured reserve (IR) with a lower-body injury and is listed as week-to-week after suffering an injury in Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger first reported Monday morning that Pacioretty is expected to be “out for a while.”

“It’s sad for Pacioretty, but it’s extensive,” Dreger said on TSN Radio’s First Up with Aaron Korolnek and former NHL defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo. “I think we could all see he was grabbing the back of his leg, his upper leg. When he went down on the ice, we saw him get help off the ice.”

Dreger said he received no specifics on the injury, but the messaging he got was that Pacioretty “was going to be out for awhile.” He expects Toronto to share more information on Monday.

The injury occurred in the first period of Saturday’s game against the Canadiens, when Pacioretty took a shot from defenseman Mike Matheson in the Montreal zone. Pacioretty fell awkwardly and looked to be in considerable pain as he skated back to the bench. He would require help getting off the ice and down the locker room.

Playing in 13 of the club’s 16 games this season, Pacioretty has provided reliable bottom-six depth, adding a physical element to the Maple Leafs’ forwards corps and occasionally chipping in offensively, scoring two goals and four assists for six points.

Now in his 17th NHL season, Pacioretty has scored 332 goals and 342 assists for 674 points in 915 career regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Canadiens, whom he served as captain with for several seasons.

Taken No. 22 overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Canadiens, Pacioretty found success in Montreal, with five 30-goal seasons and five 60-point campaigns. He hit the 30-goal, 60-point mark once in Vegas in 2019-20.

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