Leafs add yet another player to Covid protocol list.

The Toronto Maple Leafs can't catch a break, and frankly it appears as though the league shutting down over the holidays isn't doing a great deal to slow the spread, at least not within Toronto's locker room.

On Sunday the Leafs announced that they had added yet another player to the Covid protocol list, with the latest being veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin. The Leafs have also added forward William Nylander and veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly to the covid protocol list since the National Hockey League's decision to shut down operations, perhaps a sign that even shutting down won't be enough to stop the recent surge in cases around the league.

Assuming that no players have been officially cleared from the Covid protocol list over the holidays, that now brings the total number of Maple Leafs in the Covid protocols to 14. That is a staggering number of players from a single team and you have to believe that until the situation remedies itself we are very unlikely to see the Leafs take to the ice, even after the NHL returns from it's self imposed hiatus.

On top of the players that have been sidelined, the Leafs are also missing head coach Sheldon Keefe and two of his assistants behind the bench, another hurdle that will have to be overcome should the Leafs expect a return to play any time soon. In theory play could resume without Keefe out of the protocol, but given the sheer number of cases in Toronto I suspect the NHL will want to wait for that to clear itself up as well.

Muzzin has appeared in all 30 games for the Leafs this season, he has 1 goal and 8 assists for a total of 9 points and currently sits at a plus minus rating of -2.

I suppose that the silver lining here is that, at least this news comes during a period in which there are no games being played. That of course is only temporary and who knows what the Leafs roster will look like when the NHL does eventually resume play this season.

Stay tuned for more details.