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Jake McCabe will miss at least a week, and perhaps longer, after hitting his head on the ice during a Sunday night fight with Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.
The Maple Leafs placed McCabe on injured reserve on Monday afternoon. The earliest he’ll be eligible to return is Jan. 14 against Dallas. A recent history of head injuries makes it possible, however, that McCabe misses more time than that.
McCabe fought Hathaway after the Flyers forward crashed into Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby at the end of the first period. With Morgan Rielly by his side in support, McCabe stumbled backward as he tried to get to his feet in the aftermath.
Jake McCabe went to the dressing room following a fight with Garnet Hathaway. pic.twitter.com/iKWQOvG5XE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 6, 2025
He eventually made it to his feet and skated off to the dressing room, but didn’t return to the game.
“I didn’t like it. I didn’t like what I saw,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said afterward.
The Leafs described his injury as “upper body,” but there were evident fears of a concussion for a player who only just returned from an apparent head injury in early December.
McCabe took a puck to the ear on Nov. 30 and missed five games.
“It’s concerning for sure,” Berube said.
Acquired from Chicago at the 2023 trade deadline, McCabe has become one of the most important pieces on the Leaf back end. He’s averaging a career-best 21 minutes per game this season, playing primarily on a dominant shutdown pair with Chris Tanev.
The Leafs inked him to a five-year contract extension in late October.
The team will have to reconfigure the top of their defence in his absence. Oliver Ekman-Larsson seems likeliest to replace McCabe in top-pair duty with Tanev, though Berube could also turn to Rielly or even Simon Benoit.
Conor Timmins will draw back into the lineup regardless.
Marshall Rifai was recalled from the Marlies to fill in as the No. 7 defenceman.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
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