I think he's squarely in PTO category, he's played poorly enough to suggest he might be done as a player. Having said that, anyone who has ever rehabbed an ACL knows that you maybe don't know what you've got (both physically and mentally) until at least a year after your surgery. It's not crazy to suggest something clicks in year two.
Hopefully we have more obvious solutions and we spend the time between now and August making this entire discussion irrelevant.
This is well and good but it was a foremost reason not to have acquired the player in the first place, as I was saying July 1st.
Yes, I've rehabbed from ACL injuries, cartilage and meniscus tears in both knees at different times. Not fun, not good, and it takes forever to get back to things. But again thats a reason why the Oilers should have gone at any other healthy player instead.
The premise that he might recover to the degree where he can be nearing 100% on the knee (and presuming that injury hasn't setoff any other structural, or posture sub injury as sometimes occurs(you compensate like crazy on knee injuries which can lead to back, hip, foot, gait etc problems. With these often ensuing to some degree. In anycase it wasn't a great bet that Connor was going to be game ready this season.
That said, and I mentioned this often, even the pre injury Brown had scored only 10 goals his last season In Ottawa, a season where he was even in the mix in top and bottom and sometimes even on PP. That ain't good. Old Connor Brown, past injury, at age isn't likely going to be more than 10 goals even if 100%.
I like that you included the mental part as well. With knee injuries and things like ACL, meniscus, cartilage tear etc there is a near constant doubt in the joint. Basically obsessive thought wondering when its going to give out the next time and if the patient has any considerable laxity in joint due to injuries or other circumstance, this joint giving out happens with regularity and is painful. Bone on bone moments too. No fun.
