Speculation: Pitkanen

[Dr Jan Itor]

Not sure if there is a better place to put this, but do guys think that Carolina is going to re-sign him? Is he even going to be ready by this fall?

In Minnesota, we could use a guy of his stature to play behind Suter and keep his minutes under control.

Thanks in advance.

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[Novacane]

It's impossible to know at this point. We know he's made progress and we know he's looking to come back, but to what extent is a mystery. I would hope we would at least look into signing him but the thing that made him so good has been taken away from him. I'm sure the trainers, coaches, and management have a better idea than we do considering the whole thing has been pretty hush hush.

I just can't see Pitkanen coming back next year and being the same minute muncher he was in the past. I'm hoping he can, whether it be our team or another, but I don't think it's a realistic expectation at this point.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I think about him about once a month. It feels like he's not on the team anymore.

I would guess they aren't planning to offer anything close to his previous contract. He still needs to get into game shape and demonstrate that he can play NHL hockey again. It's a bit like Malhotra's eye situation, where he had to play his way back into the league from the AHL. I'm guessing that the Canes offer to bring him into camp and give him a contract if he shows he's ready to go; that being the case I'm sure other teams will want to talk to him and see what it would take to lock him into a 1-year deal.

 

[bleedgreen]

If he was healthy he could be part of the group and would be an improvement. I wasn't the biggest fan, but that mostly focued on him being our number one. He offers little physicality and leadership but he skates well and is hard to beat one on one while playing big minutes. His skill level leads to a big contract but his overall game leaves you wanting when you're paying it.

 

[Joe McGrath]

It's a hell of an interesting spot to be in. He's made enough money where he doesn't need to play, so is he really going to risk crippling himself for life for a PTO and then league minimum?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

It's a hell of an interesting spot to be in. He's made enough money where he doesn't need to play, so is he really going to risk crippling himself for life for a PTO and then league minimum?

Considering he's probably spent his whole life either dreaming of playing hockey or actually playing hockey... um, yes?

--hank

 

[SkinnersAWinner]

It's a hell of an interesting spot to be in. He's made enough money where he doesn't need to play, so is he really going to risk crippling himself for life for a PTO and then league minimum?

Considering he's probably spent his whole life either dreaming of playing hockey or actually playing hockey... um, yes?

--hank

That could be said for almost any elite contract athlete. One or two seasons making $9+ million is surely enough to live comfortably. As Hank said, it's generally more than just the money these guys play for.

 

[Vagrant]

There's also the case of not really having much of an identity outside of the game that drives people back. Sometimes it's passion, sometimes it's fear. That's the part nobody really talks about. There are guys that would rather ride the bus and still get to be a hockey player than go home and sit on their stack of money and decide prematurely what they're going to do with the rest of their lives. It has to be a tough spot. Spending every week since you were 4 or 5 years old working towards an end goal and have it taken away so abruptly. The fear of the unknown has to be powerful. I think that's why you see guys that claim they're burned out of the game take a year off and come back in some hockey capacity. The transition is hard. In Carolina we've made it really easy for a lot of our retired players making up jobs for them.

Joni Pitkanen though? Doesn't really strike me as being unafraid of going back to Finland and living a fairly pressure free life. But trying to read Pitkanen from the outside is a fool's errand if we've learned anything at all from his time here.

 

[nobuddy]

It would be huge for us if we could get him healthy and on the second pairing. Absolutely huge.

 

[Swag Surf Aho]

I'd be fine with a PTO but IMO, he should take another year off. Nobody's going to throw him a bone. He's going to need to work his butt off to rehabilitate because that crash into the boards was nasty. Knowing how well Joni does treat his injuries, along with his wife being a nurse IiRC, I'm not too worried about what he decides to do. But he's got a few good years of hockey left in him whenever he's ready to come back.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I think the best thing about the possibility of Pitkanen coming back is that he does, and if Maniscalco ever subsequently says "Joni-land" again, I'll then be able to shatter one of his heels with a hockey stick and no jury would convict me.

--hank

 

[Joe McGrath]

Considering he's probably spent his whole life either dreaming of playing hockey or actually playing hockey... um, yes?

--hank

Chad LaRose didn't play hockey this year. You don't think he could have signed a PTO and worked his way back if he wanted to? And he doesn't have an injury that could effect the quality of the rest of his life. Just because it's what they do for a living doesn't mean it's their whole life.

 

[What the Faulk]

I think LaRose wanted to play here or not at all. I think Ottawa thought about signing him, didn't they? After Carolina balked, I think he decided to close up shop for the year.

 

[DaveG]

Don't know about Ottawa but Philly had discussions with him about playing.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Chad LaRose didn't play hockey this year. You don't think he could have signed a PTO and worked his way back if he wanted to? And he doesn't have an injury that could effect the quality of the rest of his life. Just because it's what they do for a living doesn't mean it's their whole life.

Two completely different scenarios imho.

Rosie played literally his whole professional life for every single Karmanos team, the first guy to ever do that. He was never drafted, gave his heart and soul to the organization, felt betrayed on the way out the door, and hung 'em up. I suspect that Rosie feels, deep in his heart, that he was lucky to play in the NHL in the first place, knows the insane amount of work it took him to get there and stay there, knows he already reached his pinnacle -- his name is on the Cup, remember -- and is more at peace with being done because of it. (And he may even harbor hopes of coming back if/when Muller is replaced, who knows?)

Joni was a top pick who never reached his potential, and got seriously injured in his prime. His career was cut short without any real success. He's also not a grinder, and that makes a big difference; good, skilled positional defensemen can play in this league until their 40s. I'm sure he's still got something to prove, if he can make it back.

--hank

 

[Joe McGrath]

Don't all of those things speak to my point? If he had discussions with teams that means they would at least given him a tryout. He chose not to, which is his right. Not everyone is wired that way, nor should they be expected to be.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Don't all of those things speak to my point? If he had discussions with teams that means they would at least given him a tryout. He chose not to, which is his right. Not everyone is wired that way, nor should they be expected to be.

Yes, you're right. Not every player is wired that way -- but I think most of them are. More to the point in *this* case, I think Joni probably is.

--hank

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'll be very surprised if Joni plays next season. I have no insight into his recovery and I know medicine has advanced over the years, but with the severity of that injury and how it impacted other people that have had it, it would surprise me to see him on the ice next year.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Yes, you're right. Not every player is wired that way -- but I think most of them are. More to the point in *this* case, I think Joni probably is.

--hank

Based on his career and his apparent unwillingness to play through injuries wouldn't Joni be the least likely person to do that?

That and I really don't think he's ever going to be 100% again. Do we even have an example of someone who has come back from that injury?

 

[nobuddy]

Based on his career and his apparent unwillingness to play through injuries wouldn't Joni be the least likely person to do that?

That and I really don't think he's ever going to be 100% again. Do we even have an example of someone who has come back from that injury?

Taylor Fedun successfully returned from a broken femur on a similar play. That's the closest thing I can think of.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Based on his career and his apparent unwillingness to play through injuries wouldn't Joni be the least likely person to do that?

Based on the fact that he's, according to various account, spending a ******** of his time *right now* doing rehab, no, I don't think he would be the "least likely person to do that".

--hank

 

[DaveG]

The degree of severity is different in every case, but, some dude named Jeter did it just last year. Jeremy Shockey did as well back about 5 years ago.


Pat Peake of course is going to be the most comparable injury, but that was also 20 years ago now at this point. There's no telling just how different Joni's training and rehab was from Peake's.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I'm not a big Joni fan, as you all well know. Having said that, I don't wish injury on anyone. But Joni pretty much had one thing going for him as a hockey player, and that's his skating. I'd be willing to buy into a comeback if Joni had a higher hockey IQ or something else he could use to make up for his inevitable loss of speed. I hope he comes back, and I hope it's with another team. I don't believe he'll be able to make an impact without his wheels.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Taylor Fedun successfully returned from a broken femur on a similar play. That's the closest thing I can think of.

That's not even really close though, as the issue isn't the type of play he's injured on, it's the nature of the injury itself (to his heel). As was described by someone, it's like an eggshell breaking into many pieces. Info on it from the Pat Peake incident:

A broken calcaneus bone is common only to construction workers who fall from two or three stories and people in car accidents who slam on the brakes.
“I think once you get cut you’re kind of never the same,” Peake said. “Once they get in there and start hacking around and stuff like that.”........

“They want to do an ankle replacement because the heel joint, which is called your subtalar joint, they fused that about four years ago with my hip,” Peake said. “So basically now my left to right motion is just gone; there’s basically none. My Achillies is three times the size of the other one. And everything’s so scarred down. Now my ankle joint basically works as two.”

When Joni Pitkanen suffered the same injury last week on an icing touch-up against Washington, the Carolina Hurricanes called Peake to get his thoughts and advice.
“They said, ‘How much pain are you in on a daily basis?’ And I said, ‘Well, to be honest, I don’t really want him to hear this. I hurt every single day,’ ” Peake said.

Now, as I said, medicine has advanced over the years and no two injuries are exactly the same, but Peake's is the closest to what Joni has (and occurred in the same way). Even Joni is unsure if/when he can return, but he is definitely intending to.

3/13/2014: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen, out for the season with a broken heel bone, hopes to return to play eventually, although he doesn't know when.

"I've been working with Raleigh Orthopedic throughout this season with the hope of returning to play hockey," Pitkanen said in a statement released Thursday. "There is no timetable as of now, but I've been making progress with my rehab and it remains my goal to resume my professional hockey career. It's been frustrating to be away from the ice, but I want to thank all of the people who have expressed support throughout the season".

It at least sound somewhat promising in Joni's case.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

The degree of severity is different in every case, but, some dude named Jeter did it just last year. Jeremy Shockey did as well back about 5 years ago.

I thought Jeter's was an ankle fracture, not the heel bone injury that Joni had? And wasn't Shockey's a broken fibula? Those aren't really comparable to Joni's injury in the heel.