TORONTO -- Tyler Bozak isnt yet on the cusp of returning. But when hes eligible to come off long-term injured reserve Dec. 29, the Toronto Maple Leafs centre figures his torn oblique will be healed up enough to get back into the lineup. "Its still getting better every day. It feels pretty good now," Bozak said Thursday. "If theres a problem, maybe, but right now it looks like Ill be back right when IR ends." Bozak has been out since Dec. 5 and missed Torontos home game Thursday night against Phoenix. And with the Leafs having placed him on the long-term list, Bozak must also miss upcoming games against Detroit, the New York Rangers and Buffalo before being free to return against Carolina three days before the Winter Classic. The 27-year-old skated with teammates Thursday at the Air Canada Centre but hes obviously on his own track while the Leafs seek to reverse their fortunes. After missing 12 games earlier this year with a hamstring injury, Bozak is dealing with another difficult problem with his oblique. "Kind of like the same thing last year but a lot worse this year," he said. "I dont know what it is, to be honest. "I kind of stressed it a lot on faceoffs. I think it mightve happened on that. I think its just pretty unlucky and nothing you can get too down on yourself about." Bozaks injury came with the Leafs already missing centre Dave Bolland, who still hasnt resumed skating after having a tendon in the back of his ankle severed in late October. The latest injury down the middle came Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers when impressive journeyman callup Trevor Smith broke a bone in his right hand blocking a shot. "I dont know whats going on with us," Bozak said of Torontos injury woes. "I think its all been pretty unfortunate stuff with Smitty and Bolly, things that you never want to see happen and they cant really control by any means." Bozak cant control much right now other than his rehab. Being forced to watch the Leafs go 3-5-0 without him certainly hasnt helped matters. "Its not fun to watch, its never fun to watch," Bozak said. "Its not fun to watch if youre winning or if youre losing. "Obviously you want to be out there helping the guys and stuff like that." Bozak is used to being able to help, typically as the No. 1 centre alongside roommate and friend Phil Kessel, who had two goals in the eight games prior to Thursdays contest with Phoenix. Bozak hasnt had any season like this before and is trying to stay positive. "Ive not really been injured at all, knock on wood, except for college I had surgery on my one knee the one year," he said. "My first years here I missed a handful of games each year, but nothing too serious. "Obviously its been tough, but I hope I can come back stronger and help the team." Adidas Nmd r1 Herre Tilbud . Luis Enrique signed the deal with club president Josep Bartomeu two days after it was announced by the club. That was two days after coach Gerardo Martino stepped down when Barcelona finished its first season without a major trophy in six years. Adidas Basketball Sko Danmark . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. http://www.dknmdskotilbud.com/ . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. Adidas Nmd Herre Sort . Minutes after the previously winless Colts got their first win, 27-13 over Tennessee, team vice chairman Bill Polian said the four-time league MVP will not play this season though he has begun throwing to teammates at the team complex. Adidas Nmd r1 Herre Danmark . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.Who says size doesnt matter? With Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling getting his first taste of National Hockey League action this week, the focus wasnt only the feel good story of a journeyman goaltender who finally made it to the bigs with his hometown team - it was another 6-foot-6 goaltender in the NHL. Its no secret that the leagues been trending upwards in the size and strength of players - not to mention an all-time high with skill as well. That said, goaltenders have gone from that short fat kid who couldnt skate (so they throw him in net) to the athletic monster who is not only lean and agile, but covers a ton of square footage even before he puts the gear on. The evolution of goaltending has been spectacular. Speaking from experience, theres no doubt the position has evolved skill-wise - to the point where its the most improved position in the game over the last 20 years. But with that, the size of the goaltenders has also dramatically increased. Back in 1994, I was just starting out in the league and always considered myself a taller goalie. I was six feet tall and playing a stand-up style like most goaltenders of that generation, so we tended to look taller in the net. Growing up near Edmonton, I watched and admired Grant Fuhr (5-foot-10) and Andy Moog (5-foot-8). They werent physical giants, but I thought they were the norm of what a goaltender was built like in that era - smaller, with quick reflexes and in good goalie shape to handle the rigours of a long schedule. Thats quite a contrast to the way goalies are built today in the NHL. So far in this NHL campaign, theres been 62 goalies who have played at least in one regular season game and leading the size chart is 6-foot-7 Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning (the tallest in the history of the game thus far). But dont forget that there are three other goalies just behind at 6-foot-6 (Devan Dubnyk, Anders Lindback and Scott Darling), another trio just behind them at 6-foot-5 (Pekka Rinne, Darcy Kuemper and Robin Lehner) and six more goalies who are 6-foot-4 (Martin Jones, Reto Berra, Steve Mason, Eddie Lack, Kari Lehtonen and Mike Smith). In fact, the average size of goalies in the NHL today is just over 6-foot-2, with the shortest goalie in the league listed at 5-foot-10 (Jhonas Enroth). Of the 62 goaltenders who have seen NHL action this season, only 19 of them are under 6-foot-2 and only four are under six feet (Dustin Tokarski, Jaroslav Halak, Anton Khudobin and Enroth). Amazingly, there are 40 goalies who are 6-foot-2 and taller - staggering numbers compared to 20 years ago when the league average of the Top 60 goalies was barely 5-foot-11. The two tallest goalies in the league were 6-foot-4 (Sean Burke and Darren Puppa) and bringing up the small side were two - thats right, two - goalies who were 5-foot-7 (Tommy Soderstrom and Freddie Braithwaite). Also, there were three at 5-foot-8 (Arturs Irbe, John Vanbiesbrouck and Moog) and five at 5-foot-9 (Mike Vernon, Glenn Healy, Chris Terreri, Jeff Reese and Wendell Young). With the average height around 5-foot-11 back iin the day, the scary things is that there were 34 of 60 goalies that were under six feet.dddddddddddd And some greats on that list included Curtis Joseph (5-foot-11), Bill Ranford (5-foot-11), Ed Belfour (5-foot-11), Mike Richter (5-foot-11), Vernon (5-foot-9) and Fuhr (5-foot-10). Thats more than half the league! There were only four others - as well as myself - who were six feet: Dominik Hasek, Kirk McLean, Wade Flaherty and Andrei Trefilov. A total of 19 goalies stood between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3. With the way the games trended upwards in skill and talent level, it will be interesting to see where goaltending is 20 years from now. Maybe the key will be to find a goalie whos only four feet tall and six feet wide (a-la-Charles Wangs rumoured theory), but that legendary story will be saved for another time. SIZING THEM UP 6-foot-7 (1) Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning 6-foot-6 (3) Scott Darling, Chicago Blackhawks Devan Dubnyk, Arizona Coyotes Anders Lindback, Dallas Stars 6-foot-5 (3) Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota Wild Robin Lehner, Ottawa Senators Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators 6-foot-4 (6) Reto Berra, Colorado Avalanche Martin Jones, Los Angeles Kings Eddie Lack, Vancouver Canucks Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars Steve Mason, Philadelphia Flyers Mike Smith, Arizona Coyotes 6-foot-3 (9) Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks Michael Hutchinson, Winnipeg Jets Chad Johnson, New York Islanders Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers Curtis McElhinney, Columbus Blue Jackets Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens Cam Talbot, New York Rangers 6-foot-2 (21) Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets Scott Clemmensen, New Jersey Devils Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues Ray Emery, Philadelphia Flyers Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins Jonas Gustavsson, Detroit Red Wings Jonas Hiller, Calgary Flames Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks Al Montoya, Florida Panthers Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks Karri Ramo, Calgary Flames Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils Ben Scrivens, Edmonton Oilers Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche 6-foot-1 (9) Thomas Greiss, Pittsburgh Penguins Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings Carter Hutton, Nashville Predators Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers Michal Neuvirth, Buffalo Sabres Justin Peters, Washington Capitals Calvin Pickard, Colorado Avalanche Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes 6-foot-0 (6) Jonathan Bernier, Toronto Maple Leafs Viktor Fasth, Edmonton Oilers Jamie McLennan, Five NHL teams Evgeni Nabokov, New York Islanders Antti Raanta, Chicago Blackhawks Alex Stalock, San Jose Sharks Niklas Svedberg, Boston Bruins 5-foot-11 (3) Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders Anton Khudobin, Carolina Hurricanes Dustin Tokarski, Montreal Canadiens 5-foot-10 (1) Jhonas Enroth, Buffalo Sabres ' ' '