Leafs' Troubles Mount: Max Pacioretty Injured in Crushing Defeat to Blue Jackets

After suffering a humiliating 6-2 loss,the Leafs left Columbus without a key player in Max Pacioretty in addition to being defeated and humiliated.

Pacioretty left the Nationwide Arena game with what was eventually determined to be a lower-body injury. After he left, the team made that announcement, but they haven't explained how serious it is.

The injury seemed to have happened shortly after Pacioretty struck Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek with a powerful blow. The action had to pause for a moment because it was difficult enough to break a pane of glass.

Leafs head coach Craig Berube did not seem hopeful that it would be a temporary issue after the game.

After being a healthy scratch for two games last week, Pacioretty was playing his second game in as many nights. In an attempt to revive his career after suffering two Achilles injuries, the 35-year-old joined the Leafs on a PTO before signing a one-year contract that was loaded with bonuses just days before the regular season started.

His two games-played bonuses, the first of which starts after he plays in ten games, are worth $313,115 each, despite his base pay of $873,770. It might take some time for him to receive his 10-game bonus and even longer for him to receive his 35-game bonus because of his healthy scratches and the current uncertainty surrounding the severity of his injury.

Before rekindling their rivalry with the Boston Bruins on Saturday, the Leafs play Berube's former team, the St. Louis Blues, on Thursday. It would be unexpected to see Pacioretty skate in either of those games.