Nick Paul's Four-Minute Debut Ends in Classic Maple Leafs Injury Drama

The Toronto Maple Leafs managed to get exactly four minutes and 42 seconds out of their newest depth piece before the injury bug showed up.

According to Daily Faceoff, forward Nick Paul is officially day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after leaving Wednesday's preseason game against the Ottawa Senators. He vanished before the second period even started.

"Head coach Jim Hiller indicated the issue is not significant."

Logging less than five minutes in a home debut is barely enough time to realize how expensive a beer is at Scotiabank Arena, let alone break a sweat. Head coach Jim Hiller claims the issue is not significant, which is exactly what every hockey coach says right before a guy suddenly needs six months of rehab.

Toronto desperately needs this to actually be a minor bump. When you are paying Auston Matthews $13.25 million and William Nylander $11.5 million, your depth pieces have to stay on the ice. The front office brought Paul in from the Tampa Bay Lightning specifically to provide the kind of gritty, reliable minutes that keep a top-heavy roster from collapsing.

If Paul misses real time, the bottom six gets very thin, very fast. That lack of depth is something to keep in mind if you are looking at Toronto's early-season puck lines, because one missing puzzle piece forces everyone else to play heavier minutes.

The regular season opens on September 29 against the Montreal Canadiens. If Paul is skating by the weekend, this is just a preseason footnote. If he is still in street clothes on opening night, Hiller's first real lineup is already playing from behind.