Zaitsev, who last played on December 15th against the Detroit Red Wings, has missed 13 games with a broken foot. Before the new year rolled around, head coach Mike Babcock was hoping to have Zaitsev back in the lineup after the Toronto Maple Leafs bye-week.
Well, the Leafs bye-week has come and gone, and Zaitsev has not returned. It appears the Leafs won’t see him back until at least early February, but there really isn’t a target date yet.
Help is on the way as Nikita Zaitsev inches closes to return. Likely another 2-3 weeks needed to fully recover from an injured foot.