Maple Leafs centre John Tavares out week-to-week with lower-body injury

The Maple Leafs are without one of their key players for an extended period. John Tavares, the centre, is out week-to-week due to a lower-body injury. The club revealed this information ahead of their matchup against the New York Islanders. The injury status of Tavares indicates that he could be sidelined for up to six weeks. Currently, Tavares has added two goals and five assists to his season's statistics.

This season, he's only 36 years old. Tavares was involved in a collision during the Maple Leafs' recent 5-4 overtime loss against the Buffalo Sabres. The incident involved Tavares and Buffalo's Josh Norris. The collision occurred in the defensive zone when Norris was bumped by Maple Leafs forward Nick Paul, causing Norris to slide into Tavares.

Tavares subsequently fell to the ice and stayed down before being helped away. Toronto is already managing the absence of veteran defenceman Chris Tanev, who is also dealing with an upper-body injury sustained during the Maple Leafs' 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.