Blue Jackets Need Full Scale Review of Injuries & Recovery – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

It is a query that the Columbus Blue Jackets have certainly tried to sort out up to now. As this 2023-24 season winds down, it’s going to as soon as once more be a query they need to face head on.

This time although, the crew should take a tough look within the mirror and discover options to this ever-current drawback. What do they make of all of the accidents? Is it actually simply steady unhealthy luck? Or is there a deeper difficulty at hand?

Entering Sunday afternoon’s recreation in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Blue Jackets reported having 286 man-video games misplaced to harm. Most of that accrued within the second half of the season. In case you want a refresher, right here is the present checklist of accidents and absences the crew is dealing with.

• Patrik Laine (currently in the Player Assistance Program)
• Adam Fantilli (lacerated calf)
• Kent Johnson (shoulder harm)
• Yegor Chinakhov (higher-physique harm)
• Sean Kuraly (decrease-physique harm)
• Adam Boqvist (higher-physique harm)
• Elvis Merzlikins (decrease-physique harm)
• Jake Bean (damaged hand)
• Daniil Tarasov (higher-physique harm)

As you’ll be able to see, accidents have ravaged this crew as soon as once more. The quantity of man-video games misplaced isn’t as unhealthy because it was final season. However it’s going to eclipse 300 video games by the tip of the season. That means the Blue Jackets have misplaced over 800 man-video games to accidents because the begin of the 2022 season.

I’ve just a few theories on this. Ultimately, the Blue Jackets should determine what if any modifications have to be made. While there may be positively a component of unhealthy luck concerned, there are issues they’ll do higher as effectively. Let’s dive in.

Injuries Are Like Stock Market

Let’s begin with a comparability. In one sense, accidents are just like the inventory market. Anyone who invests within the inventory market is aware of that investing is dangerous. While they’ll definitely achieve cash, they’ll additionally lose it simply as simply.

In the inventory market, there are specific components buyers can management. For instance, they’ll diversify their portfolio. They can select how and the place to speculate. But regardless of how an investor acts, there isn’t any excellent resolution. In different phrases, they’ll restrict their danger however they’ll’t utterly get rid of danger.

Then there are components exterior of the investor’s management. Market circumstances, selections by the federal reserve and different exterior components are assumed danger when investing. Are you beginning to see the image right here?

Injuries are so much just like the inventory market. A participant can management sure points akin to their coaching, their meals consumption, their warmup routine akin to stretching and the way a lot time they put into these items. But regardless of how they prepare, simply by merely taking part in the sport, they run the danger of harm.

Not All Injuries Are Equal

Now that we see simply being on the ice brings an harm danger at anytime, we have to have a look at particular accidents and what might have led to them. There are totally different classifications of accidents that should be thought-about.

First are unintended accidents. These are accidents that occur all through the course of the sport the place there was no intent to injure however for one cause or one other, it occurred. Take Fantilli’s calf laceration for instance. An opposing participant’s skate stepped on his calf. That’s an accident. Accidents occur in all places and tackle totally different varieties.

Other accidents embody deflected pucks within the face and being excessive-sticked amongst different issues. Boone Jenner suffered a damaged jaw on this method. There was nothing he might do. He was within the improper place on the improper time when the deflection passed off. That’s brutal luck. That occurs in hockey.

Now we have to focus on the opposite sorts of accidents. There are occasions when an opponent targets a participant and injures them. Laine taking a head shot from Rasmus Andersson suits on this class. But then there are accidents that might have been prevented. Cramping involves thoughts. That might probably level to different points of why the cramping occurred. Certain muscle accidents might have additionally been prevented as effectively.

Injuries are available in all sizes and styles and will be unintended or extra focused. Now we have to take into account why accidents have an effect on sure groups greater than others? If this was all that was concerned, you’d count on to see extra uniform numbers throughout the league.

Possible Reasons for Injury Disparity

This is the world the place the Blue Jackets must do a full-scale assessment of how they’re working issues. Over 800 man-video games misplaced in two seasons require a full assessment from prime-to-backside.

Back to the inventory-market comparability for a second. We mentioned buyers can management sure issues to restrict their danger. Teams can management sure issues to restrict their danger as effectively.

For instance, groups that don’t have the puck a lot put themselves at extra danger of having to dam pictures. The extra pictures a crew blocks, the extra danger there may be for an harm since there may be extra alternative for pucks to injure a participant.

This factors to a crew’s taking part in type as a possible space that wants reviewed. How a crew performs might open them up for extra danger of harm. Again there may be nothing a crew can do to utterly get rid of danger. But they’ll take steps to restrict their danger. If a crew performs a mode that is determined by extra puck possession moderately than always blocking pictures, they restrict their danger on a shot block or deflection creating an harm.

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At the participant degree, a person participant could make decisions that may assist restrict their danger for harm. Do they attempt to make huge hits on a regular basis? Perhaps they are often extra selective on what hits to pursue.

Awareness can also be a key aspect. If a participant has their head down, they might open themselves up for an enormous hit that creates an harm. Awareness and being in the fitting locations can result in decreased danger for harm.

Then there’s additionally the idea of ache and harm tolerance. Some gamers can play by way of sure accidents and others should not on the identical degree. That will consider to what the harm numbers appear to be. Man-games misplaced is simply that. It’s the quantity of video games not performed on account of harm. The gamers who play by way of an harm should not factored into these counts.

Recovery and Reinjury

Whether it results in significant modifications or not, that is one other space the Blue Jackets have to judge. Are they experiencing good outcomes in restoration? Are they seeing re-harm? Are they seeing patterns in accidents?

Whatever the precise reasoning is, it’s vital to notice that Fantilli’s restoration has been slower than anticipated. Coach Pascal Vincent admitted that final week. The crew might want to consider this and decide if this might have been dealt with higher.

The Blue Jackets can even want to take a look at gamers injured greater than as soon as. Boqvist and Merzlikins come to thoughts. Are there areas inside these conditions they’ll enhance on?

Then there are some of the patterns in accidents. Johnson had the identical shoulder surgical procedure as Werenski did. Why all of these shoulder accidents? Josh Anderson had it too. So did Justin Danforth. Four gamers with the identical main harm? Hmmm.

In Conclusion

As you’ll be able to see, a number of potential causes exist which ought to trigger the Blue Jackets to take a look at issues on the micro degree. One of an important issues the brand new normal supervisor should decide is what to make of all these accidents and what if any modifications they’ll make to see improved outcomes. Losing that many man video games to harm factors to alternative for enchancment.

In the tip, the Blue Jackets have had terrible harm luck with a number of conditions out of their management. But on the identical time, additionally they have a chance to make key modifications to assist scale back their danger for future harm.

If the Blue Jackets need to get this trending again in the fitting path, it’s going to take everybody to make it occur. Players want to judge their each day habits and make vital modifications in order that they’re in one of the best place to restrict their danger. The workers wants to make sure every little thing from coaching applications, vitamin and restoration strategies are the best to satisfy the wants of the gamers. Management wants to make sure the right individuals are staffed to ensure that all these items to work successfully collectively.

The greatest groups within the NHL persistently are capable of maintain their man-video games misplaced quantity down. The Blue Jackets have so much of work to do in that space. We’ll see all through this offseason how the crew views this and what modifications they make. The one factor we do know is one thing, maybe many somethings, want to vary.