The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
Back injuries are tough on anyone, but especially hockey players.
I don't expect Helm will ever be quite the skater he was. I also expect that a guy who misses this much time with these injuries is going to have recurring problems.
I agree with this, he will also have more uneven performances, like how you can notice a big difference in jump with Bertuzzi and I am talking clear back to when he first began to have back issues not just older Bertuzzi. The performances become more inconsistent because of this issue in my opinion. Back injuries are a very big deal to hockey players.
In all honesty and he has been free of this problem for a little bit (knock on wood) but Zetterberg's skating never quite returned to the same night in night out consistency after his back problems. He is still a great player, but for a guy like Helm that uses his speed for everything, even a slight drop off could be extremely critical to what he is and the value he has.