Confirmed with Link: Johnny Boychuk Career Ending Eye Injury

[Poulin 0n My St1ck]

f***ing love Johnny Boychuk, I hope his quality of life is amazing and that he stays with the organization.

 

[SI90]

Just for clarification, weather Boychuck retires or goes on LTIR it’s the same the isles. Only person it affects is Boychuck. No matter what the isles can use that space.

 

[DVon Du Nord]

Wishing JB the best, loved the guy from the second he joined us. Definitely understand the decision. People saying this is partially Lou's magic..... would we have let Toews walk so quickly if this was all part of the plan? Or was that a cover up for the long con? What comes next?

 

[GoIsles1]

Best of luck to Johnny certainly a warrior and a very good Islander. He’ll be missed. From an on-ice standpoint I hope this means re-signing Andy Greene for one more season. Gonna miss Boychuks vet leadership and experience and Andy can replace that somewhat for next year.

 

[PK Cronin]

Possibly a bit of magic being worked, and I’m no doctor, but Johnny is talking about nerve damage and the like, which he maybe was able to play through but doesn’t feel like he can manage to play with for two more seasons? Might not have had to hit the eyeball to cause that sort of damage.

“Boychuk says he was diagnosed with optic nerve damage and "some other stuff." Had the initial diagnosis right after the playoffs ended, been seeing doctors regularly since.”

Didn't he get concussed in the playoffs? Something related to the nerves in his eye could've got affected for the worse when he took another concussion to the head.

Circumstances could have changed too, he got cleared but it worsened.

He says in the zoom interview that he should have seen the Matheson hit coming. I think there's grey area on being cleared to play just as much as there is grey area on being forced to retire.

You're all right, it's definitely possible. I suspect the answer is somewhere in the middle of all the things mentioned.

Just for clarification, weather Boychuck retires or goes on LTIR it’s the same the isles. Only person it affects is Boychuck. No matter what the isles can use that space.

A real retirement is always easier to navigate because it completely removes the player and money from the situation.

Wishing JB the best, loved the guy from the second he joined us. Definitely understand the decision. People saying this is partially Lou's magic..... would we have let Toews walk so quickly if this was all part of the plan? Or was that a cover up for the long con? What comes next?

If he wants to bring back Greene and Martin Toews had to go. Seems like that's the route that he's going to take.

 

[MJF]

Hope he recovers well to live a normal life

Sorry it had to end this way. Johnny was a warrior for the Islanders in the truest sense of the word. He left it all on the ice for us.

Thank you for everything 55.

 

[PK Cronin]

“I didn’t see him coming and I realized I should have been able to, at least a little bit,” said Boychuk, who reported that his eye tests revealed optic nerve damage and a severe lack of peripheral vision. “I realized something was off then. And going back in (against the Lightning a month later), I noticed it for sure. Once we lost and I was out of the bubble, I definitely noticed it was worse than I thought … I knew there was something going on, but I didn’t want to think about it because I wanted to play. You try to play through everything, and I did.”

From Staples latest piece, he's talking about the hit that gave him a concussion in the playoffs.
Johnny Boychuk's Islanders career is over: 'It was a life choice'

 

[MJF]

Great Islander.

Also, do we get an apology from the Lou is senile folks? He knew what was going on this entire time. Ladd is next to figure out.

I'll tell you, I did not see this one coming. I was sure it would be Ladd and Hickey heading for retirement/LTIR. I figured, like Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 after battling Robert Patrick, Boychuk would get back up and play again next year after a much needed vacation, splitting time with Andy Greene. I'm shocked and saddened it ended like this for JB.

 

[Stercrazy]

JB was an excellent addition to the franchise and played his guts out. Remember when he was defending for an ungodly amount of time and the cheer he got when he was able to change? That's classic JB.

 

[PWJunior]

I'll tell you, I did not see this one coming. I was sure it would be Ladd and Hickey heading for retirement/LTIR. I figured, like Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 after battling Robert Patrick, Boychuk would get back up and play again next year after a much needed vacation, splitting time with Andy Greene. I'm shocked and saddened it ended like this for JB.

Now it makes sense that Greene played over Boychuk in the playoffs, even Dobson in that last game. Indeed a sad ending for a great career, but at least he got a Cup and leaves the game with crazy respect from basically everyone. In his last move, he helps out the organization by getting his cap hit off the books and bailing us out of a cap crunch.

I salute Boychuk, he will always be revered by Isles fans and deservedly so.

 

[Oldracer]

Great player, Great career!
Good luck & health going forward.

 

[NJIslesDude]

The Johnny Rocket Warrior will always be an Islander!!! I hope he remains in the organization in some capacity. Maybe as a defensive coach in the AHL to help kids like Aho, Wilde and Boldic fine tune their game and reach the NHL.

 

[MJF]

Now it makes sense that Greene played over Boychuk in the playoffs, even Dobson in that last game. Indeed a sad ending for a great career, but at least he got a Cup and leaves the game with crazy respect from basically everyone. In his last move, he helps out the organization by getting his cap hit off the books and bailing us out of a cap crunch.

I salute Boychuk, he will always be revered by Isles fans and deservedly so.

The playoffs clarified a lot about Boychuk's situation. I guess he wasn't as healthy a scratch as was held out to be. Still when he played against Tampa I thought he was going to be fine next season. Who knew?

 

[MJF]

I salute Boychuk, he will always be revered by Isles fans and deservedly so.

Amen.

 

[thethirdhockeyman91]

Poor Johnny probably woke up with a horse's head in his bedroom. Don't mess with the Mob boss Lou. Johnny threatened to continue playing, and Lou sent a warning lol..

 

[MJF]

“I didn’t see him coming and I realized I should have been able to, at least a little bit,” said Boychuk, who reported that his eye tests revealed optic nerve damage and a severe lack of peripheral vision

I don't have The Athletic. What hit was Boychuk referring to?

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

“I didn’t see him coming and I realized I should have been able to, at least a little bit,” said Boychuk, who reported that his eye tests revealed optic nerve damage and a severe lack of peripheral vision. “I realized something was off then. And going back in (against the Lightning a month later), I noticed it for sure. Once we lost and I was out of the bubble, I definitely noticed it was worse than I thought … I knew there was something going on, but I didn’t want to think about it because I wanted to play. You try to play through everything, and I did.”

I was skeptical at first, but I can believe this. I mean, it makes sense. You'd be surprised at what can be rationalized away when the incentive is great enough. Playoff hockey is plenty of an incentive.

 

[Big L]

Thanks for playing balls to the wall every time out there.

good luck JB!

 

[SI90]

 

[Quickdraw2828]

I don't have The Athletic. What hit was Boychuk referring to?

I think Florida’s Mike Mathewson.

 

[MJF]

I think Florida’s Mike Mathewson.

Oh yeah. I could understand that setting off some red flags for Johnny.

 

[steveat]

No complaints here. His leadership..amazing. Look forward to Johnny Boychuk, New York Islanders Head of Advertisement sales

Also..I was thinking...if he retired because of his eye injury, he should be getting insurance money, right? I mean, he is, in effect, retiring BECAUSE of his injury...

 

[StarBucks]

Sad to see him Retire. Now can Lou work his Magic and get rid of Ladd, Kamrove and Hickey. That would be epic. He can now sign the player from Florida ( Forgot his name) and resign barzy and get another D-Man.

 

[19 in a row]

Will miss this guy too... just from his posts, felt he was one of us.

 

[JKP]

No complaints here. His leadership..amazing. Look forward to Johnny Boychuk, New York Islanders Head of Advertisement sales

Also..I was thinking...if he retired because of his eye injury, he should be getting insurance money, right? I mean, he is, in effect, retiring BECAUSE of his injury...

NHL contracts are guaranteed. Johnny will still get his cash. Question is if Isles have insurance on it to offset the loss somewhat.