Maple Leafs' Frederik Andersen: Sitting out Worlds

Andersen will not participate in the 2017 IIHF World Championship with Denmark, Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis:

Andersen's decision will almost certainly sink Denmark's chances of making it past the preliminary round of the tournament, as it's now left with just one NHL player in Nikolaj Ehlers of Winnipeg. This past year, the netminder played in 60-plus regular-season contests for the first time in his career -- posting a 33-16-14 record -- so it should come as no surprise that he's looking forward to some time off. After joining the team during the offseason, the 27-year-old has firmly cemented himself as the No. 1 in Toronto and should factor heavily into its chances of making a deeper run into the playoffs in 2018.