Although Kirill Marchenko gave Maple Leaf fans a timeline of two weeks for a return, they are going to be disappointed after Darren Dreger's latest update.
When the Maple Leafs lost Kirill Marchenko against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 26th it immediately sucked the life out of the fans as yet another big time player had gone down.
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Marchenko however was optimistic, and told fans personally that he would be returning in two weeks, which means that his return is somewhere around the corner, at least it would be.
Marchenko's two weeks away from being two weeks away
But we haven't seen anything in terms of progress for Marchenko and his return, and although he is trying some alternative rehab methods, he's still not close to coming back from the looks of it - and Darren Dreger just confirmed that.
Dreger appeared on TSN's First Up on Friday and explained that while Marchenko's original timeline that he gave was certainly a positive outlook, he still remains a couple of weeks from resuming any hockey activities:
They could certainly use him back in the mix just to try and straighten out some of the lines, so Jim Hiller doesn't have the extra-large blender out there every single night.
Yesterday, I was told it would be two more weeks, so we'll see. But that doesn't help them now, and it won't help them through this stretch.
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Given that we are looking at another 14 days minimum, that would be closing in a month without Marchenko, and it would be roughly four weeks since he went down, and the Maple Leafs have suffered.
Toronto is getting healthier thankfully but need Marchenko back ASAP
Marchenko was an offensive machine with 14 points in 14 games, driving the second line's offense, helping the power-play, and being someone who consistently showed that he was motivated to win in Toronto.
In the meantime, the Maple Leafs are slowly getting healthier which is a positive and while they won't have Marchenko back soon, they will be getting John Tavares coming back either Saturday against Montreal or Sunday against New Jersey.
That's at least one positive to look forward to, and while the loss of Marchenko has made things much harder for Jim Hiller, having Tavares back at least stabilizes things right now.
But no one can really replace the level of offense and game-changing ability that Marchenko has brought thus far, and if the Maple Leafs want to contend in the most difficult division in hockey, they need him back sooner than later.
He can't be rushed into things, but we can only hope that Dreger's assessment comes to fruition and we aren't looking at even more time off for Toronto's star winger.
Do you think Kirill Marchenko will return in November for the Maple Leafs?
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