Maple Leafs move Calle Jarnkrok to LTIR, activate Conor Timmins

The Toronto Maple Leafs have moved forward Calle Jarnkrok back to long-term injured reserve, per CapFriendly. Jarnkrok suffered the injury in the team’s March 14 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, exiting early after falling awkwardly into the boards. He seemed to collide his head, shoulder, and lower arm with the boards, making it hard to determine the specifics of his injury. It’s also not clear if the injury relates to the broken knuckle Jarnkrok suffered in late January. That injury earned him a month-long stint on LTIR and forced him out of 13 games.

In a corresponding move, the Maple Leafs activated defenseman Conor Timmins off of LTIR. He’s been out since Feb. 13 with mononucleosis. Timmins has also had a string of absences this season, with a lower-body injury delaying the start of his season until late November. Timmins has played in just 16 games this season, notching one goal, six points, eight penalty minutes and a +5. Jarnkrok’s sidelining and Timmins’ activation were made ahead of Toronto’s Saturday night loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, though Timmins wasn’t rostered for the game.

The Leafs will need to change up their lineup once again, with Jarnkrok joining Mitch Marner sidelined with injury. The absences have earned Pontus Holmberg a top-six role next to Tyler Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews, while Nicholas Robertson has slotted back onto the third line after a brief stint out of the lineup. Both Holmberg and Robertson are still searching for their scoring groove this season, with just 13 and 20 points respectively. They will work with other depth forwards like Connor Dewar and Noah Gregor to try and keep Toronto red-hot, after the team has gone 16-5-1 in their last 22 games. Meanwhile, Timmins will add extended depth to a blue-line that recently acquired Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson. They’ll have plenty of blue-liners to choose from, with Timmins and Simon Benoit operating as healthy scratches and Mark Giordano currently out with injury.