To the surprise of no one at all John-Michael Liles has been placed on the IR with "concussion like symptoms" after being diagnosed with a "sore neck". If this sounds familiar to you that's because it's exactly what happened earlier this season after Brian Gionta kicked James Reimer in the head.

Liles got crushed by Paul Gaustad on what looks like a pretty clean hit:

This could be a big loss for the Leafs. Liles was tied for 14th in points by a defender with Dion Phaneuf, Michael del Zotto and John Carlson overall, and 10th on the powerplay (tied with Phaneuf, Kris Letang and Duncan Keith). Those are some pretty serious names.

The Leafs need Liles to make a speedy recovery to help the playoff effort or to increase his value for a move at the trade deadline. He's been an excellent use of a late 2nd round pick so far and obviously we here at the blog wish him a speedy recovery.