Two Maple Leafs players listed as week-to-week as injuries pile up

With John Tavares and Chris Tanev both out week-to-week, two more Leafs went down as Marshall Rifai and Nick Blankenburg have been placed on the IR.

Yesterday's game against the New York Rangers was a thriller to say the least, and thankfully the Maple Leafs not only came away with a win. But it wasn't without consequences though, as Nick Blenkenburg left the game after getting crunched by Will Cuylle, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson once again briefly left as well.

But it was before the game that brought some unfortunate news as defender Marshall Rifai - who had just scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday - left practice and was coincidentally replaced by Blankenburg.

Another defender bites the dust as Rifai hits the IR

It seemed like it could be nothing, but for the Maple Leafs it is. An update from TSN's Mark Masters revealed that the Leafs blue liner is on the IR with a lower-body injury as he is week-to-week which comes with the maximum of a six-week time frame.

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The team also announced on Friday they had also placed Blankenburg on the IR in addition to Rifai:

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It's an issue that has hit the Maple Leafs hard already this year, as not only is their blue line suddenly dropping like flies but they also have to deal with John Tavares' absence, and the mystery of Dakota Joshua's injury still brings some questions.

Rifai, 28, has appeared in two games this season and has one point (a goal), but has been a consistent call-up for years since being signed but just found himself in the lineup now.

Blankenburg, 29, was signed on a PTO contract this preseason and earned himself an NHL deal with the Maple Leafs shortly after. He has one goal in six games this season, scoring against his former team Colorado in his first shift with Toronto.

It's not the first injury issue that Rifai has encountered, and he already had a serious wrist injury that required surgery as he missed a large chunk of the 2025-26 season. But he was healthy enough to help the Toronto Marlies win the Calder Cup last year and has looked solid in limited time.

Toronto's running out of options to fill their blue line

But with him out, it's yet another body that falls off the Maple Leafs blue line and they are going to likely need to make another move.

They do have some NHL-level talent who could come in as a stop-gap such as Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis. They aren't exactly the flashiest or top options but Myers can be a physical presence with a right-handed shot, and Mermis is a wily veteran who loves to get in the dirty areas.

If it means the Maple Leafs at least have some insurance on the back end then they aren't the worst choices, but we could also see the NHL debut of Ben Danford. They have to see what he has to offer, and looking around the league - teams are using young guys to shut things down. Even if he managed a couple of games - it's better than nothing.

Though we do have to see how Blankenburg's injury falls on the list of shelved Maple Leafs, and if it's nothing more than just a stinger or a sore shoulder then he should be good to go with rest and the corps isn't too short-handed.

But Rifai's injury is a lot more concerning and it may have just cost him his chance at an NHL job.

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