Leafs now have more than $15 million of salary on LTIR
The Toronto Maple Leafs have never been shy to pay players a lot of money to play for them.
But they’re also spending quite a bit on players who aren’t playing for them.
Today, the news dropped of the Leafs placing defenceman John Klingberg on long-term injured reserve, a much overdue reaction to a player who hasn’t been up to snuff this season. Dealing with a hip injury that’s sidelined him over the last two weeks and reportedly nagged him all season, Klingberg just may have played his last game for the Leafs.
Signing on just a one-year deal this offseason worth $4.15 million, Klingberg joins several of his Toronto teammates on LTIR.
Goaltender Matt Murray and defencemen Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren are also on the list, while Connor Timmins is expected to come off of it tomorrow.
As per CapFriendly, Toronto’s total salary of players on LTIR once Timmins comes off of it will sit at $15,862,500, the highest total in the league.
In 14 games this season, Klingberg has registered five assists in 20:33 of ice time per night, but he’s been on the ice for 19 goals against in the process, an average of 1.35 per night.
If there’s any solace in having so much tied in players who aren’t playing, it’s that it’s not expected to continue past this year. Muzzin, Murray, and Klingberg all see their contracts expire after this season, while Liljegren is expected to return at some point this year (and is a restricted free agent).
The Leafs are next in action on Friday, when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2 pm ET puck drop to coincide with the day after American Thanksgiving.
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