With an upper-body injury, Mark Giordano was activated from long-term injured reserve, replacing Timothy Liljegren for the Leafs.

There was some rearranging of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blueline players before their Thursday night game.

Defenseman Timothy Liljegren was declared unfit to participate just thirty minutes prior to the Leafs’ game against the Washington Capitals. The team disclosed that the 24-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury.

Toronto then brought defenseman Mark Giordano off long-term injured reserve in a matching move. For the first game since February 29, the 2019 Norris Trophy winner will be in the starting lineup.

Timothy Liljegren, a defenceman for the Maple Leafs, is injured in his upper body and will not be available for tonight’s game.

Mark Giordano, a defenseman, has been brought off LTIR.

— March 28, 2024, Leafs PR (@LeafsPR)

Giordano and Liljegren have had difficult 2023–24 campaigns because they have both been

The injury bug has really bit me.

Due to an unspecified ailment, Liljegren missed two games in late February. He also missed more than a month due to a high-ankle sprain, for which the Swedish blueliner was placed on the injured reserve list back in November. Liljegren also had to leave a game against the Nashville Predators in October due to an upper-body injury, but he was not out of time.

The 2017 17th overall pick has 20 assists and three goals in 52 games this season. Liljegren has played in seven postseason games with the Leafs and has 14 goals and 51 assists in 193 career games.

After sustaining a concussion in his most recent game against the Arizona Coyotes over a month ago, Giordano has been sidelined since March 1. The

The 40-year-old, who had been out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury not long before, took a leave of absence from the squad in February after his father passed away.

Giordano, who has 156 goals and 419 assists in 1,140 career games, has scored a goal and seven points in 38 outings this season. The seasoned player has scored 11 points in 41 postseason contests.

The Maple Leafs (40-22-9) are now two games ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but eight points behind the Florida Panthers for second place as of Thursday.