Injury Report: “I felt it crack.” - Roman Polak

File this one under the category of “ouch, ouch, OUCH”. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak met the assembled media in Toronto this morning on crutches with a cast on his foot. While he initially called the injury merely a “lower body injury”, he clarified that he had in fact broken his foot.

The shocking part? When asked how he knew it was broken, he replied, “I felt it crack.” Yeesh…that’s got to hurt.

Reporter James Mirtle from The Athletic confirmed that Polak will return to full health for the start of the 2017-18 season, which is good news for the Leafs moving forward. While, Polak didn’t provide the Leafs with the top end  talent that they received from blue liners like Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner this season, he did provide the team with stability and depth. He also provided the Leafs with a physical presence on the back end, something no other defender could do as well as Polak. One thing’s for sure, he’s a tough customer and this injury only proves that further.