A Big Blow

 Blog  Add comments
Jan 272011
 

To fit Sami Salo back in the lineup if and when he becomes healthy enough to play again, the Canucks would’ve had some tough roster decisions to make to fit him under their salary cap.

That said, I’m pretty sure losing Alex Edler wasn’t their preferred option. Edler, who sat out Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators, will undergo micro discectomy surgery on his back and will be out of the lineup indefinitely.

To say that losing Edler is a big blow to the team’s Stanley Cup hopes is an understatement. He’s easily been the Canucks best overall defenseman this season. Statistically, he is among the league leaders among all NHL blueliners in several categories: 32 points (10th), 5 powerplay goals (T-5th) and 24:23 TOI/game (17th).

Of course, it’s too early to tell how long Edler will be out for. In one tweet, Jason Botchford mentioned that athletes have come back from this surgery in 6 weeks, which would place Edler’s return near the end of the regular season. In a separate tweet, Iain MacIntyre mentioned a return date of 3-plus months.

Here’s hoping Edler’s return is sooner rather than later.

  • Pingback: Tweets that mention A Big Blow | CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG -- Topsy.com

  • John Andress

    I am not sure that the Edler surgery has relieved the pressure on the Canucks to make a decision about their blue line long term. We all assume that Edler’s absence will ease the way for Salo to get back onto the roster without having to trade any assets to create cap space. But perhaps the trade deadline and the two top four defense men who are due to become free agents in the off-season are a bigger factor. Does management say that we are close enough to a major playoff breakthrough and keep everybody in place and risk losinh either of both of Bieksa and Erhoff to free agency or do they make the push to sign one and trade the other at the deadline to recover at least some value for the investment in these guys. I think that rather than getting easier, Gilman and Gillis’ jobs have just become a tad more stressful.