Joe Thornton got crunched along the boards and skated hunched over to the bench on Jan. 20 in a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
Not great for the Maple Leafs, who have benefited from Thorton's presence in the lineup this year. Matters worsened when cameras showed Thorton in pain; he left to go to the locker room soon after. Two days later, it was announced that Thornton was placed on long-term injured reserve and will miss at least a month with a fractured rib.
Just under three minutes into the final period, and on his first shift of the third, Thornton was playing the puck along the boards when he took a hit from Josh Archibald. He took his glove off and appeared to grab his side and skated off gingerly. As mentioned, he was shown on the bench in pain and left soon after hunched over and gliding once again.
"Looks like he's definitely gonna miss some time here with us," said head coach Sheldon Keefe following the team's defeat. "We don't know the extent of it but he's gonna have to get more tests and images and stuff like that later this week."
Joe Thornton heads to the dressing room after this hit #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ii48ugj8eV
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) January 21, 2021
Keefe did not elaborate on what the exact injury was at the time. There was no update the following day from Keefe, although TSN's Pierre LeBrun did report that Thornton was getting an MRI later in the day.
Before leaving the game, Thornton had 13:25 of ice time and a shot on net. In 8:43 with linemates Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, the trio had a team-best Shots For Relative percentage of 33.62 and a team-best Corsi For Relative of 21.43 percent (min. 90 seconds). Losing him in the line-up for a considerable amount of time won't be good for the Leafs in, what is already, a shortened season. He's been clicking with the youngsters Matthews and Marner and has been a key component of the power play.
"His presence will certainly be felt in that way, for sure," Keefe told reporters Friday, noting that Thornton was around the team the two days after the injury. "But definitely, you'll lose a little bit of something in practices and games and all that. Obviously his presence and his voice is a big reason why we brought him here. We will still get some of those benefits with the life and the energy and the smile that he brings to the rink every day."
Wednesday night's game marked the 1,641st game (eighth all-time) of Thornton's storied career which has not seen him miss much time with injuries. He played all 70 games last year for the Sharks, collecting seven goals and 31 points. His most recent long-term time away was in 2017-18 when he played just 47 games because of a knee injury.
The 41-year-old veteran and Ontario native joined the Leafs in the offseason on a one-year deal after 15 seasons with the Sharks. He entered the game with a goal and an assist in four games. Over the course of his career, he's potted 421 goals and 1,511 points for the Bruins, Sharks and Leafs.