Maple Leafs defenseman ruled out for Saturday night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their veteran defensemen when they take on the Detroit Red Wings later this evening.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed on Saturday that defenseman Joel Edmundson would be sidelined for the contest with an undisclosed injury, although Keefe made it sound like it was something very minor. The Maple Leafs bench boss indicated that something had suddenly come up with Edmundson causing the team to take precautionary measures, all the while hinting at the fact that Edmundson would likely be playing if the Stanley Cup playoffs weren't just around the corner.

"Nothing to do with his previous injury, just something has popped up that we are being overly cautious with at this point," admitted Keefe on Saturday. "Everything considered, we will give him tonight off."

That will be welcomed news given that there was legitimate cause for concern when it was initially revealed that Edmundson would be sidelined due to an injury. The 30 year old defenseman is just coming off of another injury that caused him to miss a few games, one he had only just returned from, playing in his first game since that injury this past Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.

Edmundson seemed fine in that game and ate up nearly 20 minutes of ice time in his return, so what this new injury might be is anyone's guess.

If Keefe is to be believed however it doesn't sound like Edmundson is going to be out for very long.

Timothy Liljegren will step into the lineup tonight in lieu of Edmundson's absence.