The Seattle Kraken found out Sunday that Jared McCann will miss 10 weeks with a lower-body injury, and Toronto is up next.
October 30 had been the earliest possible return attached to his name. Nobody's circling that date anymore.
The new timeline runs through November and deep into December. That's a long stretch without one of the steadiest forwards on the roster.
The 30-year-old has 8 points in 11 games. His +5 sits at the top among Seattle skaters.
Two of his goals came on the power play, matching Bobby McMann for the team lead. He also has a game-winner on the season.
He did not dress Saturday night, and the Kraken dropped a 5-1 decision at home to Minnesota. Berkly Catton scored the only goal and put five shots on net.
Now the Maple Leafs visit Wednesday. They head into Monday's stop in Calgary riding four straight wins, the latest a 7-2 victory in Edmonton on Saturday.
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Jared McCann's injury leaves Kraken facing a major test before Maple Leafs clash
Auston Matthews leads the Leafs with 19 points through 13 games. Wednesday will be the first meeting between these two teams this season.
So where does Seattle find the offense?
Losing McCann is like a restaurant losing the line cook nobody notices until the tickets start piling up on a Friday night.
To be fair, the tickets were already stacking up. He had 1 point over his last 5 games.
Frederick Gaudreau leads the team with 6 goals, and Mackie Samoskevich is right behind him with 5. Neither one has a power-play goal yet.
Matthew Beniers has to be the answer. At $7,142,857 against the cap, 5 points in 12 games is a bad look, and the excuses ran out Sunday.
There is a flicker. Beniers has 2 goals over his last 5 games, one of them on the man advantage.
Lane Lambert also has a crease call to make. Philipp Grubauer owns a .907 save percentage, while Joey Daccord sits at .882.
The medical room was already crowded. Ryan Lindgren is out until at least November 19 with an upper-body injury, and Jacob Melanson is expected out until at least December 1 with a chest injury.
The Pacific won't slow down for any of it. The Kraken's 15 points leave them two back of Edmonton and Vegas, and the Oilers hold a game in hand.
Jason Botterill now has his own decision. Does the GM go find a forward, or trust Catton and Shane Wright to soak up the minutes?
The kid has earned some rope. Catton already has 9 points, the same total as veterans Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson.
The Kraken will also play a home-and-home with Edmonton on November 27 and 28 without McCann. What that forward group looks like by then is anybody's guess, and Seattle should be nervous.
Can Matthew Beniers carry the Kraken offense through Jared McCann's 10-week absence?
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