The forward left a 5-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at 10:25 of the third period after blocking a shot. He scored two goals and has five goals in 12 games in his first season with the Maple Leafs, who signed him to a one-year contract Oct. 9.
"He's a big loss for us," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's been playing well, not just with his play but he brings a lot to our room in a lot of other areas and that certainly will be missed."
Keefe said that injured forwards Joe Thornton and Nicholas Robertson are skating "comfortably" on their own but did not have a timeline for when each could be able to return to practice. Thornton sustained a fractured rib Jan. 20 and was expected to be out at least a month. Robertson sustained a knee injury Jan. 16 and was expected to be out at least four weeks.
"We've been able to rebound throughout this year really well when guys have been out," forward Alexander Kerfoot said. "It speaks to how things are in our locker room right now. Wayne's been awesome, he's a lot of fun to be around in the locker room, has a lot of experience, plays hard every day, comes to the rink with consistency in the way that he works. We're going to miss him out there, obviously he's elite on the power play and just that physicality and that mentality he brings every night, we are going to miss that."
Toronto (9-2-1) is scheduled to host Vancouver on Monday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNO, SNP, NHL.TV). The Maple Leafs are first in the Scotia North Division and lead the NHL with 19 points.
