Chris Johnston just reported that John Tavares is skating in a non-contact sweater and is day to day with the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs host Utah tonight, and the veteran center has been out with a lower-body injury after playing only 7 of Toronto's 16 games this season. Any sign that he's close matters to a team sitting in the middle of the pack.
Johnston noted that Tavares is now considered day to day, per the Leafs, and that his return is nearing.
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That wording is a big shift from the latest injury report, which lists Tavares on injured reserve with an expected absence until at least Nov 27. That date is an estimate, and a player skating in a non-contact sweater is the kind of step that can move it.
When he was in the lineup, he produced. Tavares has 2 goals and 5 assists in those 7 games, including 1 power-play goal and 3 power-play assists.
He also carries a -5 rating, which tells you Toronto wasn't exactly cruising with him on the ice.
Here is how the Leafs have fared across their recent games, with the ones Tavares played highlighted.
Toronto is 8-6-2 and sits 13th in the NHL, sixth in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs went 5-4-1 over their last 10 and won 4-2 in Vancouver on Saturday, so they've been steady without being dominant.
Why the Tavares timeline still has questions
Day to day sounds close, but the injury report still shows a date weeks away. Those two things don't line up yet, and the team hasn't explained the gap.
A first overall pick in 2009, Tavares is 36 and has played 1273 NHL games over his career. Rushing a player with that mileage back ahead of schedule would be a mistake for a team still trying to climb the Atlantic.
The next thing to watch is whether he moves to full contact in practice, and whether the injury report changes from that Nov 27 estimate.
Should the Maple Leafs hold John Tavares out until the injury report's Nov 27 estimate?
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