Player Discussion Andrej Sekera

[Bryanbryoil]

Does anyone know if the achilles injury is on the same leg that he had knee surgery on or if it's the other leg?

 

[CornKicker]

opposite legs

 

[Bryanbryoil]

opposite legs

Thanks. So that would allow him to still do some strength training on his repaired knee then. I sure hope that his achilles is 100% when he gets back.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Thanks. So that would allow him to still do some strength training on his repaired knee then. I sure hope that his achilles is 100% when he gets back.

His repaired knee is apparently at 100%, and he no longer needs the knee brace he had to wear last year, which really limits your range of motion. Still, pretty much 1.5 years of not playing top end NHL minutes, he probably lost a step just because of that never mind the repaired achilles tendon.

 

[bone]

We've actually used around 500-600k of the cap relief. Not sure if that will matter or not when he comes back as his cap hit should be pro-rated I believe?

Yeah, cap isn't an issue to get him back in. We've actually used very little actual cap relief so far and have even had some days below the cap giving us a very marginal amount of cap space (~50K) on the year even counting Sekera's cap hit. Basically, if the entire roster as is played the rest of the year, we'd only use $520k of cap relief. So activating Sekera would only require demotion of one player, regardless of said player's salary, which would be necessary anyways because of roster limits.

Where it could get dicey though is if the Oilers get multiple injuries at some point they may have to go with a reduced roster unless any of those injuries also qualify for LTIR.

 

[McJadeddog]

Yeah, cap isn't an issue to get him back in. We've actually used very little actual cap relief so far and have even had some days below the cap giving us a very marginal amount of cap space (~50K) on the year even counting Sekera's cap hit. Basically, if the entire roster as is played the rest of the year, we'd only use $520k of cap relief. So activating Sekera would only require demotion of one player, regardless of said player's salary, which would be necessary anyways because of roster limits.

Where it could get dicey though is if the Oilers get multiple injuries at some point they may have to go with a reduced roster unless any of those injuries also qualify for LTIR.

Thanks for the informative post.

I guess we just have to hope the Sekera can at least play 3rd pairing minutes for the rest of his career, rather than being completely useless like he was last year. I'm guessing that this year, he will still be useless. But hopefully next season, if he can actually stay healthy through the off-season, he can get lots of training in, he can log 3rd pairing minutes for the remaining 2 years of his contract.

 

[Spawn]

75% Sekera >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>100% matt benning

Whatever percentage Sekera was last year he was a far worse player than Benning was.

 

[tiger_80]

They have the choice to play him when he's medically cleared.

I'm skeptical after last year he can be an effective NHLer. Not his fault, but two major injuries in two years spells doom for a player of his age.

Markov had missed almost 2 years at some point, then came back and played 20 minutes a night for a few more years. Granted Markov in his prime was an elite defenseman.

 

[Aerchon]

I was surprised how poorly Sekera played last year. I don't expect him to be better this year. Far more likely his career is over.

Next year maybe he can regain form or maybe trade him to a team struggling to reach the cap floor.

Big fan of Sekera. If he is healthy and playing our team is considerably better.

Question.

I heard he tore his Achilles 80%... To me that sounds career ending or severely damaging to his effectiveness.

Can we realistically expect him to ever be 100% after this injury? Is it common to come back from?

 

[tiger_80]

I was surprised how poorly Sekera played last year. I don't expect him to be better this year. Far more likely his career is over.

Next year maybe he can regain form or maybe trade him to a team struggling to reach the cap floor.

Big fan of Sekera. If he is healthy and playing our team is considerably better.

Question.

I heard he tore his Achilles 80%... To me that sounds career ending or severely damaging to his effectiveness.

Can we realistically expect him to ever be 100% after this injury? Is it common to come back from?

It's possible he will recover. Apparently that's the type of injury Kobe Bryant sustained in 2013. This article describes the issues, albeit it's in Russian: Невозможное возможно. Или как вернуться после разрыва ахиллова сухожилия

 

[Risingwind]

If the injuries were on the same leg, I’d just call it quits. Even now, with a tear going through most of the way, I’m quite surprised that he’s even on the ice 5 months later. It seems irresponsible from the doctors to permit any contact sports after injuries like these. Lets say he blocks 3-4 good shots in a game, and one of them hits the side of the torn achilles leg. After that, in a corner scrum, someone falls over at full speed and tackles his legs from behind. That seems like it could lead right back to surgery for him.

 

[Boom not bust]

His repaired knee is apparently at 100%, and he no longer needs the knee brace he had to wear last year, which really limits your range of motion. Still, pretty much 1.5 years of not playing top end NHL minutes, he probably lost a step just because of that never mind the repaired achilles tendon.

Yeah, hard to be too optimistic. Even without the injuries he is at an age where he would likely start to decline.

 

[T-Funk]

If the injuries were on the same leg, I’d just call it quits. Even now, with a tear going through most of the way, I’m quite surprised that he’s even on the ice 5 months later. It seems irresponsible from the doctors to permit any contact sports after injuries like these. Lets say he blocks 3-4 good shots in a game, and one of them hits the side of the torn achilles leg. After that, in a corner scrum, someone falls over at full speed and tackles his legs from behind. That seems like it could lead right back to surgery for him.

And someone could step on his head in warmup. Specialized doctors will put him on the ice when appropriate, and he will either be 100% or he'll get injured again just like any other player.

 

[Oilers in NS]

Thanks. So that would allow him to still do some strength training on his repaired knee then. I sure hope that his achilles is 100% when he gets back.

I’m not sure of the extent of the tear on the Achilles . Karlsson came back ok. It’s a long time to be off 1.5 years. I’m hoping for the best. Sekera was great for our team when healthy. Someone mentioned he no longer in need of a brace. That will help

 

[thadd]

Next year maybe he can regain form or maybe trade him to a team struggling to reach the cap floor.


Question.

I heard he tore his Achilles 80%... To me that sounds career ending or severely damaging to his effectiveness.

Can we realistically expect him to ever be 100% after this injury? Is it common to come back from?

He's got a limited NMC after this season. And 2 more years left on his contract beyond this one. If he wants to stay in Edmonton he can list the teams that would least likely be interested in his services as destinations he's willing to be traded to in order to make it less likely that he gets traded.

30 years ago his career would have been over with for sure. 20 years ago I'm not so sure. I'm under the impression that sometime in the 90's medical science improved and I could be remembering this wrong but I think I recall Joe Sakic recovering from a similar injury in the 90's with Colorado.

Whatever percentage Sekera was last year he was a far worse player than Benning was.

Ouch!
Benning was so disappointing last year that I never imagined I'd ever see someone say that on HFboards.

he was a trainwreck when he got back last year

hopefully they keep him out until he's 110% ready this time

That's what the Oilers should do. Put him in the AHL for a bit to get acclimatized.

It's not that easy.
When the doctors say that he's recovered from the injury and fit to play all we can do is give him 2-3 games for conditioning in the AHL. I've never heard of teams being allowed to burry salary in the AHL for even as long as a month all the while claiming conditioning.

I would be surprised if they didn't send him down to the AHL for 1-3 games, but regardless of how many games he plays down there I'm pretty sure 2 different things happen.

In both instances he's going to start as our 3rd pairing left d-man and if he gets better he's going to end up seeing some time on the 2nd PP unit and if he doesn't then I'm pretty sure we're going to see as many value of Sekera threads on the trade forum as we do for Lucic.

 

[joestevens29]

Lots of doctors in this thread. Wasnt Quick also suppose to be out until next year some time?

Not all injuries are the same and not all people recover the same.

If he's cleared by doctors there isn't a lot you can do. You can healthy scratch him if you want, but you also have to be careful not to ruin a relationship with the guy. A guy you potentially want to move this off-season.

You also can't just send him to the AHL. The player has to agree to the conditioning stint.

 

[FlameChampion]

Hopefully he comes back strong. He was good for us in 16/17. I think the team missed him last year. Seems like a good dude and a good teammate.

Hes coming off of two major injuries. I wish I was more hopeful than I am. I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Lots of doctors in this thread. Wasnt Quick also suppose to be out until next year some time?

Not all injuries are the same and not all people recover the same.

If he's cleared by doctors there isn't a lot you can do. You can healthy scratch him if you want, but you also have to be careful not to ruin a relationship with the guy. A guy you potentially want to move this off-season.

You also can't just send him to the AHL. The player has to agree to the conditioning stint.

I suspect after the last 2 years that wouldn't be a tough sell.

 

[backhandsauce]

The boys love Reggie. I think Nurse calls him Uncle. haha

 

[guymez]

Apparently all the predictions of Sekera being done as an NHL player were a little off the mark.

I think its safe to say that this years version of Sekera is exactly what the team needed.

I was watching his play in the AHL and his mobility was excellent. Here we are 11 games into his NHL return and I am confident in suggesting that Sekeras return has been a massive boost to this team.

This player should be here next season...he is too valuable to trade and the possibility of an upgrade for less money is remote IMO.

 

[Fmrnuckfan95]

He's been great, definitely. Team was awful without him and Klefbom. Shows you how bad the depth is on this team.

 

[scotchtapejr]

i still cant believe 4/6 of our defencemen do not have the ability to pass a puck to an open man who is skating out of the zone

so yeah, i guess sekera has been good with all things considered

but hes also been pretty good at evading a forechecker while holding the line... which 4/6 of our defensemen also suck at

 

[ThePhoenixx]

7-2-2 since his return.

 

[bucks_oil]

Apparently all the predictions of Sekera being done as an NHL player were a little off the mark.

I think its safe to say that this years version of Sekera is exactly what the team needed.

I was watching his play in the AHL and his mobility was excellent. Here we are 11 games into his NHL return and I am confident in suggesting that Sekeras return has been a massive boost to this team.

This player should be here next season...he is too valuable to trade and the possibility of an upgrade for less money is remote IMO.

In a way it's a bit painful seeing the night and day difference between this team with and without our top-6 healthy.

Anyone watching us in 2016 knew that our D was a little bit thin to be playing as late in the playoffs as we did and relied on superhuman efforts from Talbot. It was passable, but was our most obvious weakness. With the Sekera injury it only highlighted the priority of adding an upgrade or two... and we did nothing... instead focusing to save un-used cap space and downgrade from Ebs to Strome.

In my mind that still ranks as the stupidest mistake Chiarelli did in his time here (sure, Hall/Larsson, but at least there might have been an argument if Larsson emerged a 1B/2A and Hall continued to sulk)... this... you compare cap space to nothing... and you can't convince me that we couldn't find a guy better than our 7th (Gryba/Auvitu/Davidson) who ended up having to play 17-18mins a night for more than half the season.

It is still a major weakness that must be addressed, though I suppose we have no choice but to put it 2nd priority to wing depth (thanks Chia!).

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

It is extremely apparent, especially in this year's return, how much this team missed this player in his absence.