Toronto Maple Leafs Place Joffrey Lupul on Injured Reserve
With conflicting reports about the status of Joffrey Lupul, the Toronto Maple Leafs made it clearer as the forward was placed on injured reserve with training camp set to open.
After months of speculation, the Toronto Maple Leafs made it official on Thursday announcing that forward Joffrey Lupul will begin the season on injured reserve. There were reports near the end of the season that the Leafs were going to put Lupul on “Robidas Island,” which is inhabited by Nathan Horton and Stephane Robidas.
The Maple Leafs made it official with Horton, Robidas, and now Lupul, as all three players are listed on the training camp roster, but on the injured reserve.
Lamoriello on Lupul: says he's been in rehab and having the same discomfort. Failed physical. A statement from Lupul will come later today.
— David Alter (@dalter) September 22, 2016
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Lupul had sports hernia surgery back in February, which caused him to miss the rest of the season. Lupul has dealt with a long list of injuries since joining the Leafs back in 2011 and signing a five-year contract in 2013.
Lupul has not played a full season since joining the Leafs and has seen a decline in point production and playing time with the numerous injuries he has suffered.
Last season he played 46 games scoring 11 goals while playing mostly on the third line. It is unclear whether Lupul will actually play this season, but, for now, GM Lou Lamoriello has been able to keep the issue quiet.
Lupul did issue a statement about his failed physical and being put on IR.
There are people who may find this entire situation suspicious, especially when there were people talking to Lupul during the summer and he said that he was healthy and expecting to attend training camp. It was also a bit curious to hear comments from Nazem Kadri on Lupul’s status heading into training camp.
Kadri on Lupul: "I think he's ready to go and I think he's excited about the season." Read into that what you will.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) September 22, 2016
For people saying that this is Lamoriello trying to keep Lupul out of the picture, they have to remember the process to put a player on the injured reserve. Here is the article in the CBA about the injured reserve list.
"16.11 Injured Reserve List/Injured Non-Roster.(a) The Injured Reserve List is a category of the Reserve List. A Club may place a Player on the Injured Reserve List only if such Player is reasonably expected to be injured, ill or disabled and unable to perform his duties as a hockey Player for a minimum of seven (7) days from the onset of such injury, illness or disability. A Player who finishes an NHL Season on the Injured Reserve List and continues to be disabled and unable to perform his duties as a hockey Player by reason of the same injury at the time he reports to the Club’s Training Camp in the next League Year, will again be eligible to be placed on the Club’s Injured Reserve List. For any other Player who fails the Club’s initial physical examination in any League Year, or is injured, ill or disabled while not on the Club’s Active Roster, he shall not be eligible for, and may not be placed on, Injured Reserve, but instead shall be eligible to be, and may be designated as, Injured Non-Roster.(f) The Commissioner may take whatever steps he deems necessary to investigate the circumstances under which a Player is: (i) placed, or remains, on the Injured Reserve List, or (ii) designated Injured Non-Roster. If the Commissioner has reason to believe that the Injured Reserve List or Injured Non-Roster status has not been utilized properly by the involved Club or otherwise Circumvents any provision of this Agreement, or if he determines that the Club has used the Injured Reserve and/or Injured Non-Roster designations to evade the Active Roster limit, he may take such disciplinary action against the Club as he deems appropriate."
It is also known that if a player and his personal doctor do not agree with the team, or it’s doctor’s decision to put the player on IR, they can appeal it. Lupul is not the type of player that would step aside and just do what Lamoriello says, unlike Robidas who has made little to no effort in trying to recover from his injury.
When Lupul signed his contract extension with an annual cap hit of $5.25-million there were always questions about it because of his injury history, even though he had been performing at a top-six level. He has been a vocal player in the locker room, but now his spot will likely be filled in by a young player, which is a bonus, but the Leafs are also paying close to $16 million to players who are not playing for the team.
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While the Lupul situation is dealt with for the time being, it does not guarantee that we will not hear about it sometime in the future.