Tavares Misses Colorado; Wood Gets the Call

John Tavares is away from the team to be with his family for the birth of his fourth child, which means he's unavailable Saturday against the Avalanche. Toronto called up Miles Wood from the AHL to fill the roster spot. That's the transaction.

The timing is worth noting, not dramatizing. Tavares has 43 points in 49 games this season and logs close to 18 minutes a night — he's a real absence, not a depth scratch. Ekman-Larsson is also banged up after the Golden Knights game, so Toronto is heading into Colorado short two regulars, with Max Domi still on injured reserve and no timeline attached to his return.

Wood is the bridge for a night. The Leafs have been patching around the edges of their forward group since camp opened — McKenna sliding to the third line, Cowan stepping up, line combinations shifting before the schedule has even found a rhythm. One more adjustment is manageable. The question, as it has been all fall, is whether the core stays healthy enough that these short-term fixes stay short-term.