I’m at the point now where I’m no longer surprised by news of a Sami Salo injury. At times, I don’t know whether to feel bad for the guy or laugh at his obvious bad luck. But anyway, in case you’re interested, Sami apparently suffered another injury in Finland not too long ago. If you can’t read Finnish, the piece reports that he tore an achilles tendon while playing hockey as part of his summer training regimen. It also reports that Sami will be out at least 4 months.
Maybe it’s not quite time to throw out those Kevin Bieksa jerseys yet.
[update: 07/23/2010, 10:01 AM]
I’ve received a couple of questions on how Salo’s injury affects the Canucks’ cap situation.
Basically, Salo’s cap hit ($3.5 million/193 days = approximately $18K per day) will continue to count towards the Canucks’ cap ($59.4 million/193 days = approximately $307K per day). If the Canucks place him on LTIR, the Canucks can go over the cap by a similar amount. However, once Salo is healthy and returns to the lineup, they will have to adjust their roster and go back under the cap again.
I suppose this was bound to happen. It seemed like a matter of time before Sami Salo, who had recently put in a decent stretch of games with the Canucks without injury, would return to the injury list.
Sami Salo arrived in Chicago, practiced on Wednesday morning, and then faced a media horde that wanted to know what it was that kept him out of most of Game 2, and all of Game 3.
What was his injury? An ankle? A groin?
“Maybe,” he said, “It’s just a burning sensation when you pee. You never know.”
The Vancouver Canucks aren’t giggling because there is nothing funny about the testicular injury Sami Salo suffered Sunday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Struck by Duncan Keith’s point shot just before the first-period horn, Salo barely made it off the ice with the help of trainers and teammates and was later transported to a Chicago hospital.
The team issued no statement on Salo’s condition and coach Alain Vigneault promised to know more today.
It’s almost inconceivable the Finnish defenceman will play Tuesday, when Vancouver must win again to force a seventh game in its first-round NHL playoff series.
Leading 2-0 on goals by blueliners Christian Ehrhoff and Kevin Bieksa, the Canucks were killing a penalty in the final seconds of the first period when key D-man Sami Salo was hit in front of the net by a Duncan Keith slapshot in the spot that most males would cringe at the thought of.
Salo lay on the ice writhing in agony for several minutes after the period ended and had to be helped to the Canucks’ dressing room by Vancouver trainers still hunched over. He didn’t return and it was reported that he was taken to Northwestern Hospital with a suspected ruptured testicle. If Salo can’t play in Tuesday’s Game 6, it’ll be up to Aaron Rome, now healthy, to fill in.
While losing Salo – a key shutdown defenceman and penalty killer – will certainly hurt the Canucks if he misses Game 6 in Vancouver, the rest of the defence corps did yeoman work coping without him.
[Update: 05/10/2010, 9:11 AM]
It seems like somebody has already created a “Sami Salo: History Will Be Made” parody.
The Canucks, left looking for their swagger after Game 3, seem to now have found it in spades. I don’t know what happened or what was said in their locker room during the second intermission of Game 4. Whatever it was, the players have responded positively and are playing great hockey. They’ve scored 11 goals – 8 ESG, 2 PPG and 1 empty-netter – in the last four periods. Even their penalty-kill has been a bit better. They’ve allowed just 1 PPGA in the last 7 Kings powerplays, and even killed a brief 5-on-3 against them last night. Most importantly, they’ve put the Kings on the brink of elimination and searching for some way to counter the Canucks’ attack.
After Game 3, Alain Vigneault challenged his best players to be his best players. Consider the challenge accepted. In the last two games, the Sedins and Samuelsson have combined for 13 points (5G-8A) and a plus-12 rating; Demitra (2G-2A-4P), Kesler (1G-1A-2P) and Bernier (2G) have all chipped in; in the back end, Salo, Ehrhoff and Edler have combined for 6 points (3G-3A); and despite letting in 6 goals in 52 shots, Luongo has made key saves at key times. For the last couple of games at least, the Canucks have looked like the Canucks from December and January, rather than the Canucks from March.
The Canucks so thoroughly dominated the Kings last night that, by the end of it, the Kings were left looking for something to motivate them for Game 6. Ryan Smyth, Wayne Simmonds, and that little puke, Rich Clune all took turns running around and taking their shots at Luongo and everyone else. The Canucks – especially Shane O’Brien and Rick Rypien – answered this challenge just fine. If Simmonds and Clown getting their asses kicked counts for motivation, then I suppose the Kings can take something out of this game.
[Editor's note: CHB would like to welcome Chris Golden as a contributor to the site. As you'll be able to see from his first post, he's a tough-love kinda guy. Don't worry, we think he'll come around after SOB scores a big goal in the playoffs.]
*****
Hidey ho folks! Remember me? No?! I’m hurt. Some of you may recognize me from my witty (or witless) banter in the official Canucks Fan Zone Live Blog, others may know me more as@lyteforce from the vast twitterverse, and one of you probably hangs out at my blog. Regardless of how you know me, I happened to come across the keys to the front door of the Canucks Hockey Blog and thought I’d give ‘er a spin.
So before we start, let’s get one thing clear – I don’t “hate” the Canucks. Far from it. I’m completely enamoured with the team and tend to see things through Canucks-tinted sunglasses. It’s just a few players who I love to hate. It’s like how I hate Chris Pronger – he’s a great player, I’d love to see him patrolling the blue line for the Canucks, but I’d boo him anyway. That’s just how I roll.
Anywho, the first person on my Love to Hate list is obviously Shane O’Brien. Any opportunity I get, I’m on his case – it’s just that easy. SOB brings great size to the Canucks blueline and has some potential, but like how coal turns into diamonds, I just don’t have the patience to wait for the transformation. So I hate him. Whether he’s on the ice or not, I blame him for the goal. Or whenever there’s talk about retiring someone’s jersey, I point out that SOB’s should be hung in the penalty box. I’ll concede his play as of late has improved drastically, but I’m set in my ways.
The second person on the list is Sami Salo. Sami’s a great guy. He’s a solid D-man who brings stability on the blue line, has a booming slapper that could kill, can throw a breakout pass well enough to send Jim Sandlak in alone, and provides veteran leadership. The problem is these benefits are only available for the 20 games he’s healthy for, so I hate. Word is, Sami has one of those “this workplace has been injury free for” signs in his dressing stall for inspiration when he’s healthy for extended periods of time. It’s that bad. I’ve also heard from unreliable sources that the trainers always check on Sami after a thundering hit – even though he was sitting in the press box watching the game just in case the shockwave sets him back a few days.
I could go on forever, but I won’t. Here’s the rundown of my top 4 “love to hate” players:
Shane O’Brien
Sami Salo
Kyle Wellwood – The guy can stickhandle in a telephone booth, but plays like he actually is in one.
Kevin Bieksa – Sami Salo lite but with a frown.
So who do you love to hate? Or am I completely out to lunch? Let me know!
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