News Article: Matt Read was Playing with a High Ankle Sprain

[BillyShoe1721]

Read, 28, revealed on Wednesday to the Daily News that he’s been bothered by a high-ankle sprain - originally suffered on Nov. 1 against Florida - for the past two months.

...

“I don’t want to blame anything on that,†Read said. “I wasn’t playing very good hockey the first couple months of the season. I wasn’t putting myself in the right areas to score. I wouldn’t blame (the injury) at all. It’s about getting to tough areas, shooting more pucks, doing all the little things right.â€

Unlikely to be coincidental, Read has looked more like the Read of old in the past few games now that the pain has subsided. He netted just his second multi-point game of the season against the Capitals last week and entered last night’s rematch with three points in his last four outings.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...injury-that-could-have-hampered-his-game.html

This makes A LOT of sense and explains Read's slow production for most of the year. He's looked much better and more agile the past few games, and has been buzzing in the offensive zone.

Hopefully people acknowledge this and stop wanting to possibly trade him. He hasn't lost it, he was just injured, and he's back now.

Click to read more...

 

[Curufinwe]

That does explain a lot, but I don't think he's fully back yet. His shooting is still not back to the way it used to be when he was a 20 goal scorer.

 

[pacehimself]

What kind of pick would matt read be able to get us if he starts to play like his old self? If they were looking to move him im sure they would inform the trade partner of his injury. Im not saying trade him because I like him, but if we go on a fire sale he would be a good fit for a contending team.

 

[Tripod]

What kind of pick would matt read be able to get us if he starts to play like his old self? If they were looking to move him im sure they would inform the trade partner of his injury. Im not saying trade him because I like him, but if we go on a fire sale he would be a good fit for a contending team.

He should get a 2nd and a prospect IMO.(not a top prospect or anything...someone like Leier)

Personally...if I could...I would trade him if I could. And here is why:

We are not contending for anything without a re-vamped D. We all know this. Just look at this year...great years from lots of guys...including Mason....but no results.

We are rarely in a "sell" position. We need to take advantage of it and sell what he can.

He is not part of the core 6 forwards(G, Jake, Simmer, Schenn, Couts and Laughton).

Then who knows if we can move Umberger and Vinny...sigh.

A winger to play on your 3rd line can be found in FA. Maybe not as good offensively...but a 30 point guy can be.

Yes he pk's...and in the past has been good. But we should also look to re-vamp our bottom 6....like adding a GREAT FO guy who can be on the 4th line. Add someone with SPEED to burn as well.

We need some fresh blood in here...and we know those top 6 guys are probably not moving so it has to come from the bottom 6.

I like Read...but it is more of where we are as a team for the reason to possibly move him. Or hell...if he can be used to bring in a better Dman to the team then do it.(as part of a package)

 

[Funf]

I don't totally know what I'm talking about, but a high ankle sprain sounds like something that could definitely hamper a wrist shot.

 

[PALE PWNR]

Couturier is comfortable with Read on his wing at ES and on the PK and lately on the PP together. There's a chemistry there I am not inclined to break up. I'd like to retain Read and see how he does under a new coach before we ship him off. Honestly, Couturier gets a lot of flack for his poor production and a lot of it, as most have realized, is due to poor coaching. But Read sees the same minutes Couturier does and doesn't have the talent or pedigree Couturier has. To me, it's not a shock to see his production dip so significantly, why does Couturier get a pass and not Read. My argument isn't to say Couturier, shouldn't get a pass either, but maybe we should start giving Read a little leeway. Why don't we wait and see with Read and see how he does under a new coach getting different minutes and different looks before trading him away for a mid-round pick at the deadline.

The high-ankle sprain is even more reason we should give it a longer look. The guy is a warrior, this isnt the first time he's played injured. High Ankle Sprains are no joke either, Crosby sat out months (January 18th - March 4th, he played two games then decided he wasn't healthy enough and sat out again til March 28th he missed 28 games) on his.

 

[PALE PWNR]

He should get a 2nd and a prospect IMO.(not a top prospect or anything...someone like Leier)

Personally...if I could...I would trade him if I could. And here is why:

We are not contending for anything without a re-vamped D. We all know this. Just look at this year...great years from lots of guys...including Mason....but no results.

We are rarely in a "sell" position. We need to take advantage of it and sell what he can.

He is not part of the core 6 forwards(G, Jake, Simmer, Schenn, Couts and Laughton).

Then who knows if we can move Umberger and Vinny...sigh.

A winger to play on your 3rd line can be found in FA. Maybe not as good offensively...but a 30 point guy can be.

Yes he pk's...and in the past has been good. But we should also look to re-vamp our bottom 6....like adding a GREAT FO guy who can be on the 4th line. Add someone with SPEED to burn as well.

We need some fresh blood in here...and we know those top 6 guys are probably not moving so it has to come from the bottom 6.

I like Read...but it is more of where we are as a team for the reason to possibly move him. Or hell...if he can be used to bring in a better Dman to the team then do it.(as part of a package)

Why do we need to move Read to get a great 4th line faceoff guy? That makes no sense. Vandevelde is in this lineup every night or Rinaldo. We can sign that guy out of free agency and retain Read.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Explains a lot.

 

[Prongo]

Wasn't this reported before? I know I heard this before and even commented on it I thought?

 

[Striiker]

Wasn't this reported before? I know I heard this before and even commented on it I thought?

That he was rumored to be playing through an injury, not what the injury was.

 

[Prongo]

I thought it was even reported an ankle injury before. I know I saw this information because when I read it I wasn't surprised. I knew about this somehow.

 

[Beef Invictus]

It was rumored once, that's it.

 

[King Forsberg]

Why did they even let him play? Wouldn't he have been better served missing a couple of games then coming back healthy? Last time I checked Ankles are pretty important when it comes to ya know...skating.

 

[dats81]

Explains a lot.

Explains why his skating didn't look as explosive as it used to but it doesn't explain why his shooting percentage is down to 3.70%. He used to be our second best sniper behind Giroux but his shooting accuracy seems to be gone... at least for now.

And yes, the injury was reported before. I think Meltzer broke the news by mid December as also mentioned here:
http://www.letsgoflyers.net/2014/12/15/berube-gives-insight-on-matt-reads-struggles/

 

[Curufinwe]

It wouldn't have been fixed by a few games off.

 

[King Forsberg]

It wouldn't have been fixed by a few games off.

Maybe more than a few but playing on it certainly doesn't help.

 

[PALE PWNR]

Explains why his skating didn't look as explosive as it used to but it doesn't explain why his shooting percentage is down to 3.70%. He used to be our second best sniper behind Giroux but his shooting accuracy seems to be gone... at least for now.

And yes, the injury was reported before.

Any kind of power on your shot comes from your legs and core. If you can't put pressure or as much pressure on a leg your shot would suffer a ton.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Explains why his skating didn't look as explosive as it used to but it doesn't explain why his shooting percentage is down to 3.70%. He used to be our second best sniper behind Giroux but his shooting accuracy seems to be gone... at least for now.

If your base is messed up, you'd be surprised what effect it could have on other things.

EDIT: someone beat me.

 

[Funf]

Any kind of power on your shot comes from your legs and core. If you can't put pressure or as much pressure on a leg your shot would suffer a ton.

Not to mention that you would naturally start to lose confidence after a while.

 

[SchennSational1022*]

He still looks like **** contrary to a few scoring chances last few games. It has been really maddening watching this guy play this year compared to past years. His play is a big reason why we suck so far, especially on the PK.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Read's always seemingly playing through injuries (was it last year or the year before he came back really early & played through a fracture in his ribs?).

Anyway as for trading him I don't really care one way or another.

 

[CSKA1974]

Couturier is comfortable with Read on his wing at ES and on the PK and lately on the PP together. There's a chemistry there I am not inclined to break up. I'd like to retain Read and see how he does under a new coach before we ship him off. Honestly, Couturier gets a lot of flack for his poor production and a lot of it, as most have realized, is due to poor coaching. But Read sees the same minutes Couturier does and doesn't have the talent or pedigree Couturier has. To me, it's not a shock to see his production dip so significantly, why does Couturier get a pass and not Read. My argument isn't to say Couturier, shouldn't get a pass either, but maybe we should start giving Read a little leeway. Why don't we wait and see with Read and see how he does under a new coach getting different minutes and different looks before trading him away for a mid-round pick at the deadline.

The high-ankle sprain is even more reason we should give it a longer look. The guy is a warrior, this isnt the first time he's played injured. High Ankle Sprains are no joke either, Crosby sat out months (January 18th - March 4th, he played two games then decided he wasn't healthy enough and sat out again til March 28th he missed 28 games) on his.

Exactly!

 

[bennysflyers16]

He still looks like **** contrary to a few scoring chances last few games. It has been really maddening watching this guy play this year compared to past years. His play is a big reason why we suck so far, especially on the PK.

Agree, his effort on that Stamkos goal was horrible, just was lazy . The TSN guys even mentioned it on That's Hockey.

Read makes a lot of $$ for his current production, I said before it is going to be a huge gamble on what they do with him. If this is just caused by injury, keep him, if it becomes the norm, we may have another bad contract on the books.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Explains why his skating didn't look as explosive as it used to but it doesn't explain why his shooting percentage is down to 3.70%. He used to be our second best sniper behind Giroux but his shooting accuracy seems to be gone... at least for now.

And yes, the injury was reported before. I think Meltzer broke the news by mid December as also mentioned here:
http://www.letsgoflyers.net/2014/12/15/berube-gives-insight-on-matt-reads-struggles/

Any kind of power on your shot comes from your legs and core. If you can't put pressure or as much pressure on a leg your shot would suffer a ton.

If your base is messed up, you'd be surprised what effect it could have on other things.

EDIT: someone beat me.

You guys beat me to it. If he can't put all his weigh on a leg comfortably it's gonna mess with his shot; and his shot has been noticeably worse.

 

[Flyrs21]

Well if he was hurt then he shouldn't have been playing, I remember a few lackluster back checks with him on the ice that resulted in goals