Dorsett seeing specialist after suffering stiffness in neck
Winger off to great start this season following spinal surgery one year ago
Hoping for the best. PHILADELPHIA That’s all the Canucks can do after Derek Dorsett returned to Vancouver for precautionary medical reasons.
The winger recently suffered neck and back stiffness — similar to what he endured before undergoing a cervical fusion procedure last December — and will see a specialist to determine the course of treatment.
Dorsett practised for 10 minutes here Monday afternoon and he said there was no particular incident that caused discomfort, according to Canucks coach Travis Green.
The 30-year-old Dorsett has fought four times this season — he accumulated two instigator penalties and is one shy of an automatic two-game suspension — and had 39 hits to go with a surprising offensive start that included seven goals in 20 games.
“(The stiffness) just came yesterday where he didn’t feel right in practice,” Green said of Dorsett, who counts as a US$2.65-million salary cap hit this season and next. “The symptoms just slowly came around last week or so. My understanding is he’s going to go back to see the surgeon and our doctors.
“We’ll know more after the next few days. I don’t want to talk like it was a remarkable comeback (from surgery) — it still is. He’s had a great start to the year and has been a big part of our team.
“Hopefully, he’s joining our group soon. We’ll just call it waitand-see. I don’t have the answers.”
Brendan Gaunce, who has played four games since being recalled from the Utica Comets and had yet to score in 81 career NHL games, took Dorsett’s roster spot Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“It’s a good opportunity,” Green said. “I think he’s up for the challenge and it’s the kind of role I envisioned with him long term. He has played a few good games. I thought he gave us some good minutes in Calgary (16:54 on Nov. 7) in a tough building and even against Vegas (11:36 on Nov. 16), he gave us some good looks.”
As for Dorsett, the best off-season hope was he would be of some value. Most of it was expected to come in the locker-room where he has been a voice of reason with a transitioning roster. But what Dorsett did through 20 games was beyond inspirational — especially when you think of what led to his surgery.
In a Nov. 17, 2016 game in Arizona, Dorsett wasn’t even hit that hard. But he would last just three shifts before calling it a night and a season.
“It was a push on the hips and not even that hard,” Dorsett recalled during his long rehab following surgery. “I just whiplashed back, the nerve flared and my arm went numb. That was the fourth incident within a month and that’s when we decided to do something about it.”
The C5 and C6 vertebrae were fused, bone spurs were addressed and a bulging disc was removed and replaced by a plastic spacer and bone marrow from Dorsett’s hip.
He felt an immediate relief from pain, but daily workouts at Rogers Arena were a rude reminder of how long a recovery road he still had to travel. He had days where he experienced soreness and stiffness after being inactive for two months while wearing a neck brace.
“The first (pre-season) game in L.A., I thought my timing was off,” he said just before the regular season. “I got some good contact in the preseason and I haven’t had any issues.”
That was then.
OVERTIME: Chris Tanev is wearing a hard cast on his injured left thumb. He took the game-day skate Tuesday and was able to shoot and is ready to play today in Pittsburgh if he gets medical clearance. “We’ll activate him as soon as he’s ready to play,” Green said. “When they (the doctors) tell me, he’ll be playing — I can tell you that.”
The symptoms just slowly came around last week or so. My understanding is he’s going to go back to see the surgeon