Injury Report: 2017/18 Puck off the Foot Report (Upshall out indefinitely)

[Alklha]

ACL tear for Gunnarsson, so out for the season and then some. Hopefully he can make a full recovery.

Complicates a number of issues for the Blues in the off-season.

 

[BlueDream]

I'm not surprised tbh, when your knee gets hit like that into the boards it's the first thing I thought of.

So Bouwmeester and Gunnarsson are now out until training camp basically... wonder what the Blues do there in the offseason. Moving one would have cleared some necessary cap space.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

This sucks. I actually like Gunny (and Bouw). Not flashy, not offensive powerhouses. Just reliable defenders who you can match up against some good opposing lines.

 

[PiggySmalls]

With the way Gunnarsson played this season, he would have been any easy move. If DA still wants to move him, he might need to add a conditional pick to it in case Gunnarsson plays less than a certain # of games.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

So basically this means we're screwed as far as moving one of Bo/Gunny until late in the offseason/training camp, right?

 

[AjaxManifesto]

So basically this means we're screwed as far as moving one of Bo/Gunny until late in the offseason/training camp, right?

Probably, but opportunities will also come as teams see early in the 2018-2019 season that there are flaws in their D that vets like Bouw and Gunny can fix. And you never know who else on the Blues D corps gets hurt.

 

[Alklha]

So basically this means we're screwed as far as moving one of Bo/Gunny until late in the offseason/training camp, right?

Yeah. It’s difficult to see anyone taking Gunnarsson until he is, at least, skating again.

On the positive side, maybe it convinces him to move on from both Berglund and Sobotka.

 

[BlueDream]

Yeah. It’s difficult to see anyone taking Gunnarsson until he is, at least, skating again.

On the positive side, maybe it convinces him to move on from both Berglund and Sobotka.

That was my thought as well.

We had 4 guys that were candidates to be cap casualties. I wanted to move 2 of them.

2 of them are now injured.... leaving the other 2.

And potentially makes Jordan Schmaltz a throw-in piece in a package if we're trading for a top 6 forward too. That's a different story though. For now, hopefully Armstrong can move the two redundant forwards to clear room. The 2 defensemen will be gone in a year anyways.

 

[PiggySmalls]

I saw this on Facebook both sad and funny at the same time.

 

[Ranksu]

Wasn't Fabbri ACL injury too, so Gunnar will be out over 1-year?

 

[Alklha]

That was my thought as well.

We had 4 guys that were candidates to be cap casualties. I wanted to move 2 of them.

2 of them are now injured.... leaving the other 2.

And potentially makes Jordan Schmaltz a throw-in piece in a package if we're trading for a top 6 forward too. That's a different story though. For now, hopefully Armstrong can move the two redundant forwards to clear room. The 2 defensemen will be gone in a year anyways.

I don't think it will change anything with Schmaltz. We'll carry 8 defensemen to open the season if we have to. It's difficult to look at moving a defenseman, leaving only 7, when 2 are injured until camp. It's a complication that we'll need to deal with.

We could make a run at Tavares by only moving Sobotka, the problem is that we then aren't going to be improving at wing. We'll be solely reliant on prospects making a difference. We need a combination.

Wasn't Fabbri ACL injury too, so Gunnar will be out over 1-year?

Fabbri first tore his ACL, and had surgery, last February and was cleared for contact in July.

His second injury resulted in surgery in November. His timeline to miss the entire season is partially down to when the offseason is.

Depending on how soon Gunnarsson can have his surgery, there is a 50/50 chance he be cleared for contact before camp.

 

[converseman54]

I don't think it will change anything with Schmaltz. We'll carry 8 defensemen to open the season if we have to. It's difficult to look at moving a defenseman, leaving only 7, when 2 are injured until camp. It's a complication that we'll need to deal with.

We could make a run at Tavares by only moving Sobotka, the problem is that we then aren't going to be improving at wing. We'll be solely reliant on prospects making a difference. We need a combination.

Fabbri first tore his ACL, and had surgery, last February and was cleared for contact in July.

His second injury resulted in surgery in November. His timeline to miss the entire season is partially down to when the offseason is.

Depending on how soon Gunnarsson can have his surgery, there is a 50/50 chance he be cleared for contact before camp.

I agree about Schmaltz. It looks like he'll be a big part of the defense next season. Bouwmeester returning at all from his injury is still a question mark and Gunnarsson coming back could be a couple months into the season. And those two plus Bortuzzo all have expiring contracts after the year. You can bet at least one of them won't be coming back the next year. Schmaltz should get a good opportunity to prove he's a quality NHL defenseman next year and from what I've seen so far I think he'll do fine with sheltered 3rd pairing minutes. Might even be able to squeeze into PP2 and add a little offense to the mix.

 

[Mike Liut]

I wouldn’t count on Gunnar before Jan 1. You really need 9-10 months to be fully healed. Hopefully Walman impresses at camp. His time is coming

 

[Mike Liut]

Ed - Petro
Dunn - Parayko
Bortz / Walman - Schmaltz

Getting mighty thin with depth. Mikkola ?

 

[converseman54]

Ed - Petro
Dunn - Parayko
Bortz / Walman - Schmaltz

Getting mighty thin with depth. Mikkola ?

Maybe Mikkola. You figure it has to be someone from within since Gunny/Bo coming back make it difficult to sign another NHL defenseman. The new injury news definitely complicates the blue line situation for next year. Just have to hope that a) Schmaltz can handle a full time roll b) one of Gunny/Bo returns at 100% c) there are no major injuries to the 6 main guys in the meantime. Seems like a lot of what-ifs now.

 

[BlueDream]

Maybe Mikkola. You figure it has to be someone from within since Gunny/Bo coming back make it difficult to sign another NHL defenseman. The new injury news definitely complicates the blue line situation for next year. Just have to hope that a) Schmaltz can handle a full time roll b) one of Gunny/Bo returns at 100% c) there are no major injuries to the 6 main guys in the meantime. Seems like a lot of what-ifs now.

I mean we still have 6 quality defensemen to it’s not a concern.

If the Blues needed to sign a cheap veteran this summer, that’s never hard to do.

 

[BlueAero]

I realize that Schmaltz is on the roster but, considering the immediate future, wouldn't Butler make the most sense? He's got the experience even though his ceiling has already been reached. I like Schmaltz but a stretch run for the playoffs is no time for on-the-job training IMO.

Bortuzzo-Butler
Dunn-Parayko
Petro-Edmundson

???

 

[Blueston]

I realize that Schmaltz is on the roster but, considering the immediate future, wouldn't Butler make the most sense? He's got the experience even though his ceiling has already been reached. I like Schmaltz but a stretch run for the playoffs is no time for on-the-job training IMO.

Bortuzzo-Butler
Dunn-Parayko
Petro-Edmundson

???

Butler is bad. Schmaltz actually played down the stretch last year and was fine.

 

[David Dennison]

Butler is bad. Schmaltz actually played down the stretch last year and was fine.

Yeah, unless Yeo really thinks he needs Butler on the PK or if he wants to try and take his chances playing a muck and grind game. Schmaltz has looked better in the few games that each has played in the NHL this season.

 

[Dbrownss]

Butler is used to tank. He is attrocious in the NHL. Id rather see Walman down the stretch then Butler

 

[Alklha]

I wouldn’t count on Gunnar before Jan 1. You really need 9-10 months to be fully healed. Hopefully Walman impresses at camp. His time is coming

Wouldn't count on him? To say that it takes time to be "fully healed", I assume you mean it would take him that amount of time be be back into rhythm?

Malkin had surgery on his ACL in February 2011 and won the Hart in 2011/12. Plenty of players are back up to speed in 6-7 months.

I realize that Schmaltz is on the roster but, considering the immediate future, wouldn't Butler make the most sense? He's got the experience even though his ceiling has already been reached. I like Schmaltz but a stretch run for the playoffs is no time for on-the-job training IMO.

Bortuzzo-Butler
Dunn-Parayko
Petro-Edmundson

???

Schmaltz is the better player in the AHL and he performed better when used in the NHL this season.

I'd trust a Bortuzzo-Schmaltz pairing a lot more than Butler-Bortuzzo.

 

[Mike Liut]

Wouldn't count on him? To say that it takes time to be "fully healed", I assume you mean it would take him that amount of time be be back into rhythm?

Malkin had surgery on his ACL in February 2011 and won the Hart in 2011/12. Plenty of players are back up to speed in 6-7 months.

Schmaltz is the better player in the AHL and he performed better when used in the NHL this season.

I'd trust a Bortuzzo-Schmaltz pairing a lot more than Butler-Bortuzzo.

Plenty of players? I dont know of plenty of players who have came from ACL after 6-7 months fully healed.

 

[Alklha]

Plenty of players? I dont know of plenty of players who have came from ACL after 6-7 months fully healed.

Malkin, Kovalev, Galchenyuk, Thornton, Beauchemin, Burish. That's just after a quick search, and omitting all the players where 6 months would have fallen in the offseason.

There was a paper linked when Fabbri got injured that had every player returning to the NHL, except one who went to the KHL. The average time to be back playing was ~7 months. That was looking at data from players between 1990 and 2013. Things have advanced significantly with knee injuries since the 90's.

Doctors talking about 4-6 month timelines aren't being optimistic. That's the realistic timeline after a successful surgery with no complications.

 

[ezcreepin]

Wasn't Fabbri ACL injury too, so Gunnar will be out over 1-year?

He'll hopefully be back in about 9 months

Edit: more like 7 months, 8 because he's a bit older

 

[Mike Liut]

I think its stupid coming back before 10-12 months. Why risk what happed to Fabbri? One of the best surgeons in the area (does Blues players too) did my daughter (D1 soccer) and he said the key date is 10 months. He’s known as the best actually. He’s Wash U’s top surgeon