Maple Leafs Place Veteran Forward on IR

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without a veteran forward after he was moved to the injured reserve.

Oct 26, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Max Pacioretty (67) during the second period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images / Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs have quietly been dealing with a number of injuries throughout the early portions of the 2024-25 NHL season. A new injury has just been added to the Maple Leafs list, but this one might be less severe than initially thought.

The Maple Leafs announced that veteran forward Max Pacioretty has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is out on a week-to-week basis. Pacioretty suffered the injury early in Toronto’s most recent contest against the Montreal Canadiens.

Maple Leafs F Max Pacioretty has been placed on IR (lower body) and is listed as week-to-week.

F Max Domi and William Nylander will not practice today (maintenance).

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 11, 2024

Pacioretty took an awkward fall in the first period, and did not return for the remainder of the game. After crumpling to the ice, he was clearly grabbing at his left hamstring area and didn’t put any weight on his left leg as he made his way to the bench.

According to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, Pacioretty suffered a pulled hamstring, but that is a better diagnosis than initially feared.

A pulled hamstring will keep Pacioretty sidelined for a few weeks, but had something torn, he likely would have been out for the season.

Pacioretty has already missed a ton of time over the last two seasons thanks to lower-body problems. He was held to just five games in 2022-23 with the Carolina Hurricanes and 47 in 2023-24 with the Washington Capitals thanks to multiple tears to an Achilles tendon.

The 2024-25 season is Pacioretty’s first with the Maple Leafs after initially signing in Toronto on a professional tryout contract. In 13 game played with the Maple Leafs, Pacioretty has scored a pair of goals and four assists for six points.

It’s tough to see a player of Pacioretty’s stature miss time with yet another injury, but the worst appears to have been avoided. He’s playing like a perfect veteran addition to the Maple Leafs’ highly skilled lineup, and he’ll jump right back to his role when he returns to the ice.

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