Another Maple Leafs defenseman absent from practice amid injury woes

Yet another Toronto blue liner is dealing with injury issues as Oliver Ekman-Larsson was absent from Monday's practice and it's a bad sign of what the future holds.

Already down one defenseman in Chris Tanev, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a move to bring in Marshall Rifai as some insurance for the injured defender, who they placed on IR and who will miss the next three games at least.

It's a rough start for Tanev especially since he was coming into the season with high expectations. Appearing in only 11 games last year, injuries were hoped to be behind him this year but unfortunately it's not the case.

Ekman-Larsson misses practice as blue line questions begin to rise

But there is another defenseman who is dealing with injury issues, and that's Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Already leaving two separate games with an injury, he's been unable to reach the offensive level he's had the previous two seasons, and Monday's practice came with some bad news.

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Despite it being called a maintenance day for the veteran blue liner, Ekman-Larsson not appearing is a tough bit of news for a group that is already dealing with a lot of question marks.

They are an older bunch, dealt with various injuries over the past two years, and time is the ultimate equalizer - these absences will happen more often than not.

Maintenance typically means that the player is nursing an injury and needs some extra time to rest and if Ekman-Larsson has left two games in a row, then what's to say he's not going to again?

Toronto should try and lighten the load for Ekman-Larsson

The team brought in Marshall Rifai for Tanev, but they also have Nick Blankenburg who can slide right in for him - and after his display on Saturday he deserves another look, at least in a supporting role.

Ekman-Larsson didn't want to miss against Colorado, but he knows he wasn't 100%, and he can't risk a more serious injury by just playing through this one.

Father Time is undefeated so far, and it looks like his record will continue to be perfect. Which is why the best deterrent for Ekman-Larsson fighting him off is to make sure that he takes these maintenance days, while also being provided the proper protection so he isn't so heavily relied on.

We've already seen two seasons of fantastic play from the veteran, and if we want more out of him then we need to be a bit more cautious with him - even if he isn't nearly as cautious when he takes the ice.

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