After missing the first two games of Round One, Toronto defenseman Nikita Zaitsev returned to play the remaining four. Zaitsev was out with an upper-body injury that he suffered against the Blue Jackets on April 9.
The day after the Capitals eliminated the Leafs, it was announced via press release that Zaitsev would not participate in the IIHF World Championship due to a concussion.
KHL insider Aivis Kalniņš originally tweeted the news. The news was later confirmed by NHL.com/ru correspondent Sergey Demidov.
As for Nikita Zaitsev not taking part at Worlds – Per FHR it’s a Concussion.
— Aivis Kalniņš (@A_Kalnins) April 24, 2017
The press release reads as follows (translated by Google):
Defender “Toronto” Nikita Zaitsev and striker “Montreal” Alexander Radulov will not be able to take part in the World Cup in Germany and France. The situation was commented the head of the scout service Ice Hockey Federation of Russia Alexei Zhamnov:
– Nikita Zaitsev in a match of the regular season NHL injured – concussion. Nikita has played in the playoffs, but his current state of health does not allow to speak for the national team at the world championships. “Toronto” did not let the counsel to the location of our team. Forward Alexander Radulov has refused to participate in the World Cup in the absence of the current contract with the club.
Russian Hockey Federation
The original press release has been replaced with the one above, which says the Maple Leafs refused to release Zaitsev to Worlds. The concussion mention is in both versions, though it’s hard to be precise without a deliberate English translation. Toronto’s standing in “releasing” Zaitsev is dubious; his one-year RFA contract expires this summer.
FHR now have edited the press release announcing that the Toronto Maple Leafs have refused to release Nikita Zaitsev to the Worlds.
— Aivis Kalniņš (@A_Kalnins) April 24, 2017
There was no apparent hit suffered by Zaitsev during Game Six.
During the series, Zaitsev struggled. During his 5-on-5 shifts, the Leafs were outshot 62 to 42, a team-low 40.4 shot-attempt percentage, and they were outscored 3 to 0.
When Toronto coach Mike Babcock was asked about Zaitsev on April 15, he said Zaitsev was not under a concussion protocol.
Babcock asked if Zaitsev is going through concussion protocol: "No, he's going through medical protocol so whatever that means"
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 15, 2017
Zaitsev played two days later. He racked up almost 90 minutes of ice-time and a minus-4 rating in the series before Toronto’s elimination. Now we learn he’s not playing at the World Championship due to an injury he was reportedly cleared of ten days ago.
NHL teams don’t have the benefit of the doubt in a case like this. Here’s a very simple question: Did Nikita Zaitsev play four playoff games with a diagnosed concussion?
Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
