This Montreal Canadiens season has been the polar opposite of last year, in many ways. Of course, their position in the standings is one thing, but there is also the abysmal injury problem, where last year they were highly fortunate in that regard.
Now, the Canadiens medical staff is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, but there have been some highly questionable decisions this year. Most recently, Tom Gilbert had to be shut down for the season due to knee surgery, and it turns out that the problem had existed for some time.
#Habs Therrien says Gilbert first injured his knee in Minnesota 2 months ago. Been playing thru pain until medical staff decided on surgery.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) February 23, 2016
I’m no doctor, but when it comes to knees I have a bit of experience hurting my own while playing hockey. Any time I’ve hurt a knee, coaches may have let me finish the game, but I would usually get sidelined, pending medical tests afterwards. I don’t know what, if any tests were performed on Gilbert, but I have one burning question…
Why in the heck was he playing through knee pain for a full two months before something was done about it?
The same question can be asked about Alexei Emelin, who played on a fractured foot for three weeks.
Since it has now surfaced that Gilbert needs surgery, it sure sounds like he should have been shut down a long time ago. Maybe give him a game or two, but two months of knee pain is absurd. The actions – or lack thereof – taken with Gilbert are reminiscent of another Canadiens player, and a pivotal one at that.
I am of course talking about Carey Price. Many who follow the team are of the opinion that he returned too early from his original knee injury this season, and that this has contributed to his extended absence. These are merely opinions, but given how long he has been out from the second injury, they surely gain credibility.
I must stress once more that without medical training, and access to the players’ medical records, it is impossible to make a legitimate accusation that the medical staff did anything wrong. There are merely some questionable decisions, and I think it fair to point those out.
That said, there is also an issue to be taken with the way that the club talks about injuries to the public, in that they rarely do.
It is virtually impossible for the media to get legitimate answers about injuries. Trying to get substantial information about the status of an injured player seems tantamount to breaking into the Pentagon. And the really odd thing is that that isn’t always the case.
When Daniel Carr went down, they let everyone know how long he was out so fast that it took many aback. It was unbelievable to have an answer that quickly, because that rarely happens when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens. It raises the question, that if they knew that quickly the extent of Carr’s knee injury, why were they unable to diagnose Gilbert sooner, and why do we still have no clue what is going on with Price?
They have no problem sharing video after video of Price practicing without pads, but outright refuse to set a timeline, while denying that he is done for the year. I understand the argument that knees can be tricky, but if they could give a definitive answer on Carr as quickly as they did, I have a hard time believing that they can’t provide anything more substantial on their star goaltender.
Maybe they actually don’t know, or maybe they’re just stringing everyone along because they don’t want to give the answer. I honestly do not know, but they seem to be content with raising more questions than they are answering, and that is pretty tough to understand.
And as this season continues to worsen, it becomes more and more frustrating for the media and the fans.
