Maple Leafs place Max Pacioretty on injured reserve
On Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed forward Max Pacioretty on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
In response, the team called up defenseman Marshall Rifai from its American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
Maple Leafs F Max Pacioretty has been placed on IR.
D Marshall Rifai has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Per the league’s IR rules, Pacioretty is ineligible to return to the lineup until March 8, when the Maple Leafs take on the Colorado Avalanche.
Pacioretty has been in and out of the lineup most of the season due to injuries. This latest ailment has kept the 36-year-old for the past three weeks. His last appearance came in a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 8, the Leafs’ last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
He has missed the last three contests, in which Toronto won each game, scoring five or more goals each time.
The list of injuries this season for the Connecticut native includes an upper-body injury that forced the team to place him on IR in January and a lower-body injury that led to him going on long-term injured reserve. That ailment saw the former Montreal Canadiens captain miss almost a month.
In total, Pacioretty has missed 21 games so far this year, most of which were due to injury. In his 37 appearances, he has scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points, registering a plus/minus of -2 while averaging 13:30 of ice time.
Pacioretty is on a one-year contract with the Leafs with an AAV of $1,473,770.
Riafi has only appeared in two NHL games in his career, both in February of last season with the Leafs. The undrafted blueliner has played in 44 games this season with the Marlies, scoring three goals and six assists for nine points.
The Maple Leafs (36-20-2) sit second in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Florida Panthers for first place. Toronto is set to visit the New York Rangers on Friday night.