Montreal Canadiens: Tyler Toffoli Inching Closer to Early Return

Montreal Canadiens right winger Tyler Toffoli has been out of the lineup since early December.

He was leading the team in scoring with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 26 games when he hurt his hand in an overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. He had a pair of assists in that game and was heating up offensively, but obviously hasn’t played since.

Toffoli also led the team in scoring last season with 28 goals and 44 points in 52 games before pacing the team with 14 points in 22 playoff games as well. The team certainly wouldn’t have made a run to the Stanley Cup Final without him.

Toffoli is still just two points back of the team lead even though he has missed the past ten games after having surgery to repair his broken hand. The team was struggling with him before his injury but continued its spiral to the bottom of the NHL standings without their top point producer in the lineup.

The 28 year old winger was supposed to be out of the lineup for eight weeks, but it sounds like he could be back any day now.

He was back on the ice at practice yesterday though he was still in a non-contact jersey. Head Coach Dominique Ducharme said after the team skated that Toffoli could be back as soon as Thursday or Saturday when the Canadiens travel to Vegas and then Colorado to take on the Golden Knights and Avalanche. He also said it was more likely we see Toffoli make his return on Monday, January 24th when the Canadiens face the Minnesota Wild on this road trip.

Eight weeks after his injury would have been January 30th, so to hear he could play as soon as the 20th is good news. It is too bad he isn’t coming back for a playoff chase, but it is great to see that everything went well with his surgery and recovery from his injury.