Minnesota’s Ballard at a crossroads
Recovering from fifth concussion in last five years
When the Vancouver Canucks bought out his contract two years ago, Keith Ballard thought it would be cool to end his National Hockey League career at home in Minnesota. But the defenceman never considered that possibility could occur so soon.
The difficult seasons Ballard endured in Vancouver were nothing compared to what has happened to him here.
On his third concussion in 14 months, the 32-yearold confirmed this week that he may not play again in the NHL.
“At some point, I’ve got to think about long-term,” Ballard said. “I’ve got two kids, 4½ and 1½. That’s what I think about. It sucks to think about [retiring], but it’s also the reality.”
Ballard hasn’t played since the Islanders’ Matt Martin ran Ballard’s face into the boards on Dec. 9. The native of Baudette, Minn., said he has been unable to work out and elevate his heart rate without concussion symptoms.
“I’m trying to get symptomfree, and that’s been the struggle,” he said. “My biggest thing right now is just trying to be able to work out and do anything without getting symptoms, and so far that hasn’t been the case.”
He said this is his fifth concussion in five years.
After signing a two-year, free-agent contract with the Wild, Ballard has played only 14 games this season, averaging just 12:03 of ice time.
Acquired in Vancouver by former general manager Mike Gillis, who surrendered prospect Michael Grabner and a first-round draft pick to get him from Florida in 2010, Ballard never averaged more than 15:54 of playing time for former coach Alain Vigneault. The Canucks bought out the final two seasons of Ballard’s six-year, US$25.2-million contract in 2013.
Asked if he felt unlucky the way his career has gone since leaving Florida, Ballard said: “No, no. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been able to play 10 years. I don’t think like that at all.”
In a span of less than two months towards the end of last season, goalie Devan Dubnyk was traded twice, matching the number of times he was sent to the minors. Technically, he was on five different teams. But a funny thing happened to him on the way out of the NHL: He saved himself in Minnesota.
“The changes this year have been a lot more positive,” the 28-year-old understated before facing the Canucks. “A really positive feel around them.”
In July, Dubnyk signed a free-agent contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, who traded him to the Wild on Jan. 14. In his first nine games for Minnesota, the Edmonton Oilers’ former starter went 7-1-1 with a 1.31 goals-against average and .948 save rate. He is the first goalie since the six-team NHL to post four shutouts in his first nine games for a team.
His trade to the Wild in exchange for a third-round pick came 365 days after the Oilers sent him to the Nashville Predators, who seven weeks later dealt him to the Montreal Canadiens.
“It was a very difficult time,” he said. “You have a bad game or a bad couple of games, from now on I don’t plan on it getting any worse than it got last year. No matter what happens or how bad I’m feeling, it’s always something that you can draw on and say, ‘Hey, you were there and you got out of it.’ You know who you are as a person and a goalie. You think about that and you’ll be fine.
“When you see how quickly it can be taken away from you, it’s scary. Coming into this year, I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed every day that I got a chance to come to the rink and play in this league.”