Toronto Maple Leafs’ Calle Jarnkrok day-to-day with injury

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that forward Calle Jarnkrok is day-to-day with an injury.

Keefe didn’t go into the specifics of the injury, just mentioning that he was dealing with an injury, although day-to-day likely implies that it’s nothing too severe and is mostly just a precaution before the playoffs. He played through all of Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins, so that should also mean it’s not a severe injury if he played through it for the game.

Jarnkrok has had a career year with the Leafs, scoring 19 goals, 18 assists, and 37 points in 71 games this season. It bests his previous career-high of 16 goals set in 2015-16 and 2017-18, and his previous career-high of 35 points set in 2017-18.

Mitch Marner moves back onto the top line alongside Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting with Jarnkrok out, while Wayne Simmonds slots into the lineup to replace his spot on the roster. Marner has 28 goals, 67 assists, and 95 points in 77 games this season, while Simmonds has just two assists in 17 games this year.

Jarnkrok is in his first season with the Leafs after signing a four-year contract with a $2.1 million cap hit in unrestricted free agency in 2022. He was a former second round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2010, although he never played a game for them and was dealt to the Nashville Predators as part of the return for David Legwand in 2014. He spent eight seasons with the Preds before being selected in the expansion draft by the Seattle Kraken in 2021, where he spent half a season before being dealt to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline.

Keefe also announced that defensemen Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie will miss Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, although their absence is due to load management and not any particular injuries.

It’s something the Leafs can afford to do, as they have little to play for in the final week of the season. They sit in second in the Atlantic Division with a 46-21-11 record, and can move neither up nor down at this stage of the season.