| | TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will discover over the next six weeks just what kind of a team they really are.
| |  | |
| Sundin |
The Maple Leafs, who started this year with three straight wins
after making it to the conference finals last season, have lost
team captain Mats Sundin with a broken right ankle. The veteran center was injured Saturday in a game against Ottawa and is expected to be gone for at least 1½ months.
According to a published report out of Toronto, the Leafs have strong interest in signing unrestricted free agent Dimitri Khristich to pick up some of the offense lost with Sundin's injury. Team president Ken Dryden, however, has indicated that signing a free agent is not likely.
Khristich became available when the Boston Bruins took the unprecented move of exercising their walk away rights after an arbitrator awarded Khristich $2.95 million for this season.
The team got the news about Sundin on Monday shortly before wasting a 2-1
third-period lead en route to a 4-2 loss to the previously winless
Nashville Predators.
Linemate Steve Thomas called the injury a "big loss" to the
Maple Leafs.
"He's one of the best players in the world," Thomas said.
"Each and every guy is going to have to put out an effort like
they never have."
Coach-general manager Pat Quinn echoed that sentiment.
"We know he's our best player, but we still have to play the
games. Hopefully, we'll still be a very competitive hockey club."
Quinn said Nikolai Antropov, the Maple Leafs' No. 1 pick in the
1998 draft, will be called up from St. John's of the AHL.
"We may as well give him a try," Quinn said. "He played a lot
with Thomas (in pre-season) so that may be a real possibility."
Todd Warriner filled in for Sundin on the Maple Leafs' top line on Monday.
Sundin, who was leading the Maple Leafs in scoring with three
goals and four assists, was hopeful he would be back in action
sooner than six weeks.
"Worst case, I guess it's six weeks," Sundin said. "I hope
it's shorter. I'll be able to work out. I rode the bike (Monday)
morning and that didn't bother me.
"If there had been any movement in the leg immediately after
the injury, they would have had to do surgery. I think I've been
fortunate. I haven't had any bad injuries, so I hope this is the
one time it happens."
Maple Leafs team physician Michael Clarfield said Sundin
shouldn't have any difficulty in recovering from the injury.
"There's no other ligament damaged and (the ankle) is not
swollen, so we think he'll come back in good shape," Clarfield
said.
Sundin, 28, was injured when he took a shot off the ankle.
"I'm surprised by it," he said. "It was on a 3-on-2 and
(Magnus) Arvedsson was going wide and I went wide with him. He
dropped a pass and I stopped. I think it was (Marian) Hossa, who
took a one-timer."
It was initially thought Sundin had only bruised the foot, but
he couldn't practice Sunday because of the pain and had a series of
X-rays Monday that revealed the undisplaced fracture.
The injury ended Sundin's 259-game played streak, which had been
the second-longest active streak in the NHL.
"There's a first for everybody. I've been fortunate in my
career not to get hurt so we'll have to see." | |
ALSO SEE
Predators' Legwand breaks open tie with first NHL goal
 |
