Dave Bolland still on crutches as Toronto Maple Leafs solider on

The sight of Dave Bolland on crutches is shocking when you consider how his season started for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was traded away from the Chicago Blackhawks for salary cap reasons and was thankful for the opportunity to play in Toronto, a place that he called home on the heels of the deal.

Bolland spoke to the Chicago Tribune at the time of the trade about his emotions:

"I have mixed emotions. I’ve been in Chicago for seven or eight years but I’m going back home to Toronto where I grew up. It’s sort of an up-and-down roller coaster right now.Things like this happen–they make trades. It’s a part of the game. You sort of know going into this game this can happen. It’s tough leaving this team. It’s one of the greatest organizations in the league. I’ve been here for so long."

It didn’t take Bolland long to settle in with the Leafs though. The stitched an A into his sweater and he came out of the gates on fire for Toronto. He didn’t score in his first game as a Leaf, but he notched two in his second contest on October 2 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Toronto surprised many with its feisty play and strong record to start the 2013-14 NHL season. Bolland had been a big part of that early success until a freak accident took him down for the foreseeable future.

It may be tough to tell from that video, but Zack Kassian’s skate came up and found an unprotected spot around Bolland’s ankle. He had a tendon on the outside of the bone severed on the play, and he’s unsure of when he’ll be able to return for the Leafs.

He spoke to Jonas Siegel of TSN about the occurrence and how he was feeling:

"You can’t do much. You’ve got to let the healing begin. For me, it’s sitting in front of my Apple TV watching as [many] shows as I can.Get to see the motherhood of life and see what goes on actually when I’m on the road. Had to actually change a diaper and do things like that."

Bolland has no timetable or ideal date in mind, but he seems certain that he’ll be on crutches for at least another month as the healing process begins for his ankle.

What began as a storybook season for a player coming home to play some outstanding puck will have to be put on hold for the time being.