You knew that injuries were going to play a role in the Maple Leafs’ season sooner or later. They do for every franchise in the National Hockey League each year – and NHLers know that the truest test of a team’s worth comes with how a squad plays after key players are sidelined.

The team has been without starting goalie James Reimer for a couple weeks, but now that two-thirds of Toronto’s second line -namely, Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur – are injured, somebody else on the team is going to have to step up and take the heat off big-time Leafs point producers Phil Kessel (who is on the cover of the latest edition of THN) and Joffrey Lupul.

Will it be rookie winger Matt Frattin? The 23-year-old has played 15 games and enjoyed many scoring chances, but has just a single assist so far. How about Nikolai Kulemin, the third component of that second line? With only two goals and seven points in 18 games, the 25-year-old hasn’t been anywhere close to last season’s pace when he posted 30 goals and 57 points in 82 games.

Toronto’s other step-up options are at centre: Tim Connolly has missed 12 games due to injury already this season, but is returning tonight when the Leafs play the Nashville Predators. In the six games he’s played, Connolly has produced three assists and four points. As well, there’s Tyler Bozak, who has seven assists and eight points in 16 games. If Connolly is hurt again, the job of first-line centre will likely fall to Bozak and the pressure on the third-year NHLer will ratchet up exponentially.

By now, you’re probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned Nazem Kadri and/or Joe Colborne, two of Toronto’s better NHL prospects currently playing with the American Hockey League Marlies. I haven’t forgotten them at all – I just think there’s no way Leafs fans or management should be looking to two 21-year-olds to contribute significantly.

We’ve seen that storyline play out before with this franchise and it has never ended well.

If nobody can replace the offence supplied by Grabovski and MacArthur, you can bet Leafs GM Brian Burke will look to the trade market for answers. But for the time being, he and the organization would prefer the help come from within. And we’ll see just how much depth Toronto has built in the Burke Era.