Coming into the 24-team playoff, many players suggested that the NHL’s three-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a lot of injuries when the league started back up again.
The Dallas Stars are one of those case stories.
On Thursday, Stars general manager Jim Nill spoke to the media and revealed 13 different players were injured during the team’s Stanley Cup Final run where they came two games short of winning it all.
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Here’s the summary via the Associated Press’s Stephen Whyno:
STARS INJURIES:
Jamie Benn battled through shoulder injury
Blake Comeau separated right shoulder.
Jason Dickinson: foot/ankle injuries.
Radek Faksa broke his left wrist
Roope Hintz playing on a fractured ankle, injured hip in final.
Tyler Seguin torn labrum in hip, out 4 months— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 8, 2020
Lindell was playing through hand injury, Klingberg through shoulder injury
Bishop had knee surgery late in May, Johns wasn't comfortable to play based on concussion history, Fedun had knee injury.
INCREDIBLE the banged-up Stars got to Cup Final.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 8, 2020
Oh and Anton Khudobin had surgery to relieve numbness in his hands because of a nerve issue.
AND HE ALMOST LED THEM TO THE STANLEY CUP.
Hockey players, man.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 8, 2020
This is an incredible amount of injuries. Tyler Seguin’s surgery may force him to miss the start of the season next year.
oh it turns out tyler played the playoffs while technically dead https://t.co/Zjbv14o0B6
— Peter Hassett, draft expert (@peterhassett) October 8, 2020
Meanwhile, according to The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro, Seguin said that the Stars’ medical room would often have a waiting list while coach Rick Bowness described the training room more like a hospital.
While it’s admirable to see players playing through so much pain to try and win the Stanley Cup, it’s also important to side-eye news like this suspiciously and consider why teams allow it to happen. What are the short and long-term effects to players physically, mentally, and emotionally and are they being supported enough?
Every time you report on a hockey player playing through a brutal injury, the next question needs to be why that was allowed to happen.
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) October 8, 2020
Every Tyler Seguin story I'm seeing right now is, 'bro that was so BRUTAL' and then it stops short of asking how much pain management he received, what drugs he took, what the long term effects to his health are and what, if any, objections were raised to his playing.
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) October 8, 2020
Other news Nill made during his press conference was that the team will look to sign Rick Bowness and make him the team’s head coach next season and beyond. The interim tag is off. Anton Khudobin, AKA the other Russian machine, is also going to free agency.
Photo illustration: Stars logo, Pixabay images
