Sandin's return from injury forces unfair healthy scratch on defense
The Leafs' D corps is slowly working their way back to full health after rash of injuries forced the team to reach much further down the depth chart than anyone expected at the start of the season. Only Justin Holl and Mark Giordano have played all 37 games so far this season. Things got so dire at one point that Kyle Dubas even had to make a trade for more D depth, fleecing the Arizona Coyotes by trading career AHLer Curtis Douglas for former 2nd round pick Conor Timmins. Timmins has stepped into the Leafs' lineup and played very well. In Just 11 games with the Maple Leafs, Timmins has put up 8 points, bettering his career total and playing more games than he played in 2 seasons with Arizona. Now it appears as though Timmins is the odd man out.
Rasmus Sandin was a full participant at practice today for the first time since suffering a neck injury on December 20th. Sandin reported swelling in his neck and blurred vision, prompting the Leafs to immediately pull him from the game. Sandin skated on a pair with Timothy Liljegren, which looks to be the Leafs' 3rd pair for the time being. The pair of young Swedes have been excellent in their time together, but I would like to see them getting more minutes. Keefe has stated that he will be splitting ice time fairly evenly on defense moving forward, so lets hope that remains the case. Both players have proven that they deserve more ice time.
For Timmins, who skated on a 4th pairing with Jordie Benn at practice, it will be a tough pill to swallow. His play has been good enough to keep him in the lineup. The Leafs D depth is just too strong at the moment. Justin Holl's name will undoubtedly be thrown around as a player who deserves to sit out before Timmins, but Holl's ability to kill penalties trumps Timmins' offensive abilities. The Leafs have three strong offensive D men in the lineup already with Rielly, Sandin and Liljegren. At the moment, there just isn't room in the lineup for Timmins. That said, with the way this season has gone, I doubt it will be very long before Timmins finds himself suiting up in the blue and white again.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 2 | 516 ANSWERS Sandin's return from injury forces unfair healthy scratch on defense Who would you rather have in the lineup? | ||
| Justin Holl | 105 | 20.3 % |
| Connor Timmins | 321 | 62.2 % |
| Jordie Benn | 90 | 17.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
