Flames take hit with Brouwer injury
Feisty Calgary forward knocked out of lineup with broken finger
CALGARY — Flames general manager Brad Treliving delivered the update on Wednesday morning.
And when the boss comes out, you know it’s bad news. Sure enough, Treliving confirmed what many suspected after watching Flames right winger Kris Versteeg accidentally hit Troy Brouwer in the hand with a slap shot on Dec. 23.
Brouwer had indeed broke one of his fingers and underwent surgery on Tuesday.
“Hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later,” Treliving said. “No question, it’s a void. But, as with any injury, it provides opportunity for others. We’ve seen that in the past. You never want to lose anybody but that’s the nature of the beast. We have to find ways to get points, regardless of who is in the lineup.”
The injury happened in the Flames’ final game before the Christmas break, a 4-1 win over the Canucks.
In the dying seconds of the opening frame, Versteeg wound up to unleash a slapshot into Vancouver’s zone but didn’t realize Brouwer had skated in front of him.
By the time he looked up and saw his linemate and longtime pal, it was too late.
Obviously, Versteeg felt awful for being directly responsible for Brouwer’s injury. He felt so horribly, in fact, Versteeg said he found it difficult to play out the rest of the game.
“It’s a buddy on your team. It was definitely in my head the rest of the night and kind of rattled me,” Versteeg said. “Thankfully we got the win. I talked to him right when it happened, and the day after, and the day after that just to see what was going on.
“It definitely had me rattled. He’s a friend and a teammate and a big part of this team. Hopefully he can do what Johnny did and find another level when he gets back.”
Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan expressed the importance of other players filling Brouwer’s role.
“It’s a big blow for our group,” he said. “Just like when Johnny went down, it’s the same type of injury and it’ll be week-to-week for him.
“We’ll just have to have other guys step up and take his place and take on his roles and responsibilities.”
In Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, the coaching staff plugged Micheal Ferland in Brouwer’s place on the top line with Sean Monahan and Versteeg. Meanwhile, on the power play, Alex Chiasson was in Brouwer’s usual spot as the screen in front of the net. Brouwer’s is a big part of Calgary’s penalty kill; his six-foot-three, 215-pound frame is useful when playing big, physical teams like the Anaheim Ducks.
The 31-year-old Vancouver native, who was signed during the summer free agency period, has also become a leader for the Flames. On Tuesday, his ‘A’ was handed off to blue-liner Deryk Engelland and Gulutzan indicated Wednesday that the players had decided Engelland will wear it for the duration of Brouwer’s injury.
Brouwer has eight goals and nine assists in 36 games with the Flames. Three of his markers are power play goals.
“First of all, he’s a big body, a big right shot, he’s been productive for us on both sides of the special teams,” Treliving said. “But most of the stuff away from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., he’s taken on a leadership role. Coming in new, you’re sort of finding your way and finding that balance.
“In the last little while, Troy has a strong voice and a presence. He holds people accountable.”
For now, Brouwer’s status is labelled week-to-week.
But as the Flames saw with Gaudreau, who returned 19 days after he broke his finger on Nov. 15 versus Minnesota, Brouwer could return around the three-to-four week mark. “You just never know,” Treliving said of the murky timetable. “Obviously it’s a hole for us here in the next little while.”