The Flames keep avoiding tough roster decisions due to injuries
By Ryan Pike
8 years agoPrior to the Calgary Flames game against Columbus, the chatter during Flames practices amongst the FlamesNation crew generally circulated around what bodies were missing, if any, and what the Flames would do once they finally got healthy.
You see, Markus Granlund is up on the Flames roster because of injuries, as was Derek Grant before him, and we were wondering what would happen to Granlund. Would he go to the AHL or had he impressed management enough for somebody else to get the chop?
But the decision whether to put a veteran on waivers or to banish Granlund to the minors has seemingly been postponed again – with Micheal Ferland absent from practice today – because the Calgary Flames have never been 100% healthy this season and at this rate never will be.
Here’s a rundown of Calgary’s players that have been injured this season:
- Joe Colborne (hand): October 7-17
- Ladislav Smid (surgery recovery): October 7-20
- T.J. Brodie (hand): October 7-26
- Lance Bouma (broken leg): October 17-December 20
- Micheal Ferland (knee): October 25-November 7
- Jonas Hiller (groin): October 30-November 24
- Kris Russell (hand): December 4-10
- Michael Frolik (shoulder): December 17-January 13
- Jiri Hudler (groin): January 5-11 (and January 16)
- Lance Bouma (leg laceration): January 13-21
- Micheal Ferland (upper body): TBD
While the deluge of early-season injuries allowed the Flames to get Joni Ortio, Brett Kulak and Derek Grant some NHL time (and allowed the ill-advised three goalie experiment), take a particular look at the timing of the forward injuries:
- As Colborne is a game (or so) away from getting healthy, Bouma breaks his leg in a weird play along the boards against Dallas.
- As Bouma is about to return from his broken leg, Frolik blows out his shoulder missing a hit against Nashville.
- As Frolik is about to return from his shoulder injury, Bouma gets a skate gash to the leg in another weird sequence.
- As Bouma’s about to return from his leg laceration, Ferland takes a knee to the head against Columbus.
Four legitimately bizarre injuries, in sequence, have prevented the Flames from ever being 100% healthy so far this season, and for the past two months have kept Granlund in the NHL and helped the Flames avoid tough choices regarding who should stick in the NHL and who should head to Stockton.
And it’s getting to the point where it’s almost funny, because I’m almost expecting a player to get sidelined with an injury when I hear Bob Hartley say in a media conference that somebody’s almost ready to return.
We’ll see what happens when Micheal Ferland is fully recovered from his injury or if it means he’ll be spending more time on the injured reserve.
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