Tip of the Tower
Fansided

Toronto Maple Leafs: Frederik Gauthier will have surgery for leg injury, out six months

By David Morassutti

Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Frederik Gauthier (33) moves the puck as New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) chases him at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Frederik Gauthier (33) moves the puck as New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) chases him at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Frederik Gauthier will undergo surgery for a lower-body injury that he sustained in the Toronto Marlies loss on Saturday.

The Toronto Marlies will have to move forward without their number one centre as Frederik Gauthier will have surgery on his leg following a hit by Syracuse Crunch defenceman Jake Dotchin. Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is expected to miss close to six months.

This what Keefe had to say to the media about Gauthier’s injury after the Marlies practiced on Monday.

"“It’s a terrible loss for Freddy. He’s been playing as good of hockey as I’ve seen,” said Keefe. “With how he’s been skating and the extra speed that he’s been bringing for us, it’s really established him as our top centre. I think he has had a good year. It’s a big blow to him because I think it would have been big for his development to keep pushing along here in the playoffs.”"

More from Tip of the Tower

This is a big blow to the Marlies who return home down 2-0 in the second round after an 8-5 loss on Saturday night. Gauthier was leading all forwards in points with four and was a big part of his line which featured Brendan Leipsic and Kasperi Kapanen.

Dotchin got Gauthier with a late hit which sent him into the boards, he had to be helped off the ice as he could not put any weight on his leg.

Paul Hendrick tweeted out that Brett Findlay would take over Gauthier’s spot for Tuesday nights game.  The 24-year old centre had 24 points in 34 games with the Marlies this season and another 33 points in 29 games with the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL.

Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Frederik Gauthier (33) moves the puck as New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) chases him at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Frederik Gauthier (33) moves the puck as New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) chases him at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

It will be a tough road to recovery for the 22-year old as he will likely miss training camp and preseason action. If he needs the whole six months to recover it will mean that Gauthier’s season won’t begin until November the latest. If that is the case, it could mean a delay in his development as he would have been in a fight for a spot with the Leafs.

Now it looks like the Leafs will need to look at other options for their fourth line centre spot which may include bringing back pending free agent Brian Boyle.  The Leafs lack depth at centre especially at the AHL level made Gauthier a logical choice especially with his improved skating ability.

Next: Picking 17th in the NHL Draft

It will be interesting to see what the AHL does with Dotchin considering the hit was late and predatory, so a suspension is likely. Dotchin was also responsible for an injury to Kapanen, sucker punching Andrew Nielsen and a knee-on-knee hit on Auston Matthews.

Home/Toronto Maple Leafs