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Danger: No one knows when Reimer may return

Travis Moen;  James Reimer;  Lars Elle

Montreal Canadiens left wing Travis Moen (32) celebrates as he scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer (34), while Canadiens left wing Lars Eller (81) looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct, 22, 2011, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

AP

The Toronto Maple Leafs said today that James Reimer will not be back on the ice this weekend. That alone isn’t news as the Leafs #1 netminder has been slowly trying to recover from “concussion-like symptoms.” But the problem is that it sounds like no one around the Leafs organization has any idea when Reimer will be back on the ice. When it comes to concussions, no news can be just as worrisome as bad news.

“He kind of hit a plateau in his recovery,” Coach Ron Wilson said, “so the trainers decided not to ask him to go on the ice.” With all of the concussion problems that have made headlines over the last year, a player leveling off in the recovery process and not returning to the ice could be a problem. These things aren’t as easy to predict as a broken wrist or a torn ACL—which is oftentimes the source of so much frustration.

Just ask the likes of David Perron, Sidney Crosby, or Jonas Hiller.

The good thing Wilson and the Leafs have going in their favor is that the team has been playing so well recently. Rookie Ben Scrivens only gave up a single goal in his NHL debut last night. Jonas Gustavsson has won three of his last four games as well, so there’s no real rush to get Reimer back in the net. When the team is 9-3-1 and sitting on top of the Northeast Division, it’s a little easier to remain calm about any injuries.

The minute Toronto starts experiencing goaltending problems though, the questions are going to get louder. But for now, no one knows when Reimer’s coming back—and there’s no hurry to rush him back.