Maple Leafs Provide Immediate Update After Two More Key Players Absent From Practice

With Auston Matthews, Chris Tanev, Scott Laughton and Anthony Stolarz already sidelined due to injury, the last thing anyone wanted to hear about was any additional injuries in Toronto. That's why when Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo missed practice, there were concerns.

The Maple Leafs were quick to get out ahead of the concerns, informing the media that both Knies and Carlo were given maintenance days, and that the absences were not related to any known injuries.

Obviously, the fact that either needs maintenance does indicate that additional rest is needed, meaning that they're not quite 100%, but players deal with all sorts of bumps and bruises throughout the course of an 82-game season and it doesn't mean Knies and/or Carlo are at risk of missing any time.

The Leafs also received some positive news on Friday when Scott Laughton took to the ice for practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey.

Laughton was injured earlier this week after a controversial hit from Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, leaving him clearly shaken up and in need of some attention from medical staff. Many suspect that he is dealing with a concussion.

The Leafs have a lot of issues that need resolving right now, not the least of which is the David Kampf situation. The team is expected to announce the contract termination today after 2pm ET, at which point, the team will get a little bit of salary cap relief.

Beyond the Kampf situation, the Leafs are slumping right now to the tune of 4 losses and with so much injury trouble this season, they might benefit from adding another body to the group, either in the top-6 or on the blueline.

There are persistent rumours linking the Leafs to Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, with one report suggesting that the two sides may already have a deal in place pending the Kampf termination, so we'll see if there's any fire behind that smoke after 2pm today.