Maple Leafs' Edmundson Out Again After Just 1 Game Back in Lineup

Ever since they obtained him at the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had a very difficult time keeping Joel Edmundson in the lineup. He finally just returned Thursday night after an 8-game absence, but he's been once again scratched from Saturday's tilt with the Detroit Red Wings.

For Toronto: Liljegren, Domi, Reaves in the lineup tonight. Edmundson out, being “overly cautious” with him, not the same injury as before
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 13, 2024

Per insider Elliotte Friedman, the Leafs are being “overly cautious” with holding him out of the lineup, but as head coach Sheldon Keefe put it, "something popped up."

They say it's not the same injury that kept him out for eight games, which came from blocking a shot. But it seems possible that whatever it is might have arisen as a result of the same type of play, as noted by Leafs beat reporter David Alter during Thursday's game.

Edmundson a bit slow to the bench after blocking yet another shot. Shaking it off.
— David Alter (@dalter) April 11, 2024

The 6'5" D-man has only played in half of the 16 Maple Leaf games since his arrival in Toronto. In those eight games, he's played just about 18 minutes per night while recording a +3 rating with no points. And what they really got him for, he's been delivering on: 19 hits and 14 blocked shots (but those, as we've seen, have come with a price).

It's hoped, and expected, that Edmundson should be ready to go for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which begin next Saturday. The bruising blueliner had already said that his last injury, which kept him out for eight games, would not have kept him out of the lineup in the playoffs.