Tavares picked up the injury in the game against the Senators on Saturday and participated in practice yesterday before further tests diagnosed the extent of the ailment. If Tavares’ recovery was complete by the three-week mark exactly — the best-case scenario — he would be back for October 18 in time for the game against Dallas on October 20, which means missing four games in total.
Therefore, the Leafs will be without their captain and a significant piece of their center depth for the opening week of the season at a minimum, which likely leaves Alex Kerfoot centering the second line next to William Nylander, two players with loads of history together and a C-RW combination we’ve seen Sheldon Keefe turn to in the past in Tavares’ absence, including in the series versus Montreal in 2021.
John Tavares out for opening week of the regular season with an oblique strain
