The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to shuffle the lines around after John Tavares’ injury from Thursday night.
On Saturday, the hockey world learned how long Tavares might have to be out after his collision against the Buffalo Sabres sent him to the locker room on Thursday.
Tavares collided with Sabres forward Josh Norris early in the third period.
The Maple Leafs’ veteran didn’t see the contact coming and took a tough hit to his lower body, potentially his knee.
Tavares went down to the ice and was checked on by a trainer before needing help to make it to the locker room.
The Maple Leafs hadn’t had an initial update on Thursday night, but they brought one on Saturday.
John Tavares Injury Update
Sportsnet’s Luke Fox shared the Tavares update on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday morning.
Tavares is week-to-week, and the official diagnosis is a lower-body injury.
John Tavares is out week to week with a lower-body injury.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) October 17, 2026
NHL teams generally don’t provide more than that general injury descriptor, so the speculation will continue among fans about what exactly happened — it certainly looked like contact to Tavares’ knee, but there are a variety of injuries to that part of the leg that would have varied absence times.
For now, Maple Leafs fans just know it won’t be quick for Tavares. He’ll be out for a while.
John Tavares Injury Update
Maybe most fascinating here is that Tavares has rarely been hurt during his Toronto tenure. The Leafs haven’t had to figure out how to play without him.
He has missed just 14 games in the last five seasons, according to Sportsnet.
Tavares had missed one game already this season to be there for the birth of his son.
In his time in Toronto, Tavares has generally operated as the second-line center.
The most likely player to take his spot in that role at the moment is Nick Paul.
Auston Matthews should remain in his top-line role with William Nylander and Jack Roslovic.
That would put Paul with Kirill Marchenko and potentially Easton Cowan — or Gavin McKenna if the Maple Leafs decide to eventually give the No. 1 overall pick that push forward in playing time.
The Maple Leafs also have Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger to play center, at least in how they currently appear to be constructed.
Toronto hasn’t had the best start to the season, but the Maple Leafs will have to figure out how to make good things happen even without Tavares.
Maple Leafs’ John Tavares Injury Update Reveals Return Timeline