Maple Leafs' Keefe: No timeline for Andersen's injury
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe can't say when Frederik Andersen may be back in goal.
"I think the easiest way to describe it is there's no timeline to the injury," Keefe said Saturday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "It's just really a matter of Fred being comfortable with where he's at and how he's feeling."
Andersen hasn't played since March 19. Keefe said on March 24 that Toronto's starting netminder would be out at least another week while recovering from a lower-body injury.
The Maple Leafs retroactively placed Andersen on long-term injured reserve Friday to accommodate the $2.75-million cap hit of Riley Nash, whom the club acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Toronto also placed Nash on LTIR due to a knee sprain he sustained on April 4 that's expected to keep him out for four-to-six weeks.
The Maple Leafs could activate Andersen as early as April 12 - depending on his health - as he'll have missed 10 games by that point. Toronto will have an extra $5 million in cap space to work with ahead of Monday's trade deadline if he's shelved until the playoffs.
Andersen admitted he was playing through an injury earlier this season, and his numbers reflected it. The 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent is 13-8-2 with an .897 save percentage this season and had lost five of six appearances before being sidelined.
Jack Campbell has been sensational in Andersen's absence, going 10-0-0 while posting a .944 save percentage and a 1.58 goals-against average.