2 Maple Leafs stars absent from practice on Monday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking severely depleted at the forward position on Monday morning.

As the Maple Leafs hit the ice for practice today it was immediately apparent that the team was doing so without two of their top forwards on the ice, with both forward William Nylander and forward Matthew Knies nowhere to be seen.

The news of Nylander's absence comes as no surprise with Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube having previously announced that Nylander was doubtful for Monday's game against the Minnesota Wild. Berube did however confirm that Nylander is currently sidelined with a groin issue, and did not provide a clear timeline for a potential return.

The news of Knies absence was considerably more surprising but unlike Nylander it isn't clear if Knies will be available for tonight's game against the Wild. Berube informed reporters that Knies is being considered a game time decision, which means he could still suit up for the Leafs later tonight.

Berube did make it sound like Knies has been dealing with something for a while now, and it could be the prudent decision to give him a night off to rest and more importantly recover from whatever has been ailing him.

A tough break for the Leafs even at the best of times, but especially so with the Leafs set to face off against one of the National Hockey League's best teams in the form of the Minnesota Wild only hours from now.