TORONTO -- John Klingberg was placed on long-term injured reserve by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
The defenseman hasn't played since a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 11, which came one day day after he missed his first game of the season, a 5-4 shootout win against the Calgary Flames.
Although Klingberg, whose injury is undisclosed, traveled with the Maple Leafs to Stockholm for the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden last week, he did not play in either of their two games.
Since returning from Sweden, Klingberg, who has five assists and a minus-7 rating in 14 games this season, has not practiced with the Maple Leafs.
“Status is that he’s working through things to determine what are going to be the next steps for him,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Defenseman Conor Timmins, who sustained a lower-body injury during training camp, has practiced each of the past two days on a pair with William Lagesson. He could make his season debut against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday (2 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, TSN4).
“He’s preparing to play,” Keefe said. “We will use every second we have before making that final decision on him, but it’s been a good couple weeks for him now. That’s what we are anticipating, but we won’t make that final decision until tomorrow.”
