No stranger to injury comebacks
Marchand’s five- game suspension little consolation for suffering concussion
Defenceman Sami Salo, who considers himself lucky to not have broken his neck when Boston Bruins’ pest Brad Marchand took him out at the knees earlier this month, is skating again.
The two least surprising things in the postscript to the Brad MarchandSami Salo incident is that Marchand never apologized for causing the injury and that Salo will overcome it as he has so much else.
Salo, the 37- year- old who has beaten an arm’s- length list of injuries to keep his National Hockey League career going, practised Friday with the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since suffering a concussion on Jan. 7 when Marchand “submarined” the defenceman.
Even with the hostility of the Canucks- Bruins rivalry, Vancouver defenceman Aaron Rome texted Nathan Horton after injuring the Boston winger with a late hit last June, while Bruin blueliner Johnny Boychuk sent a note to forward Mason Raymond after the Canuck suffered fractured vertebrae in the same Stanley Cup Final.
But Salo never heard from Marchand, who even after a precedent- setting five- game suspension for ducking into the Canuck’s knees maintained his innocence and argued that black was white.
“I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck,” Salo said Friday, answering questions for the first time since landing heavily on the back of his head and neck when upended by Marchand during the Canucks’ 4- 3 win in Boston two weeks ago. “You can’t play the game thinking about what other guys might do. You can’t play the game ... thinking this guy might elbow me or something.
“It happened pretty quickly and I couldn’t react. That’s why I was angry. It wasn’t a hockey play and I was angry. But that’s in the past and my focus is to get better. I’m feeling better every day, so we’ll see how it goes the next few days.”
Salo said it was little consolation that NHL vice- president Brendan Shanahan suspended Marchand for five games and blew apart the Bruin’s claim that he was merely protecting himself.
Vancouver’s game today against the San Jose Sharks will be the sixth missed by Salo, who hopes to play Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers if his recovery continues.
Salo noted that in his second NHL season, with the Ottawa Senators in 1999- 2000, he suffered a compound fracture of his wrist when slashed on a breakaway by ex- Canuck Bret Hedican. Hedican was suspended for four games, severe punishment back then. But Salo missed 44 games.
So, one game for Marchand or five, it doesn’t matter to Salo.
Like he said, the Finn could have broken his neck had he landed even slightly more awkwardly. Or he could have had a concussion like Sidney Crosby’s. Salo hasn’t the luxury of time. His career could have been over.
“You’re always concerned with any concussion to any player, but I had so much faith that Sami would overcome this, too,” Canuck associate coach Rick Bowness, who runs the defence, said. “This is a wonderful man, a true professional and a quality human being. He is so committed to his profession and overcoming these obstacles.
“To overcome everything he has been through tells you the strength of character and commitment this man has for the game. He is one of the smartest people I have ever coached and he’s one of the most humble.”
Even “everything” doesn’t seem to adequately describe the injury challenges Salo has faced.
Before last season, about a month before his 36th birthday, Salo ruptured an Achilles tendon playing floor hockey in Finland. He resumed his NHL career seven months later.
His has missed an average of 24 games annually since the 2004- 05 lockout, and Salo’s career injuries number in the 30s.
Including the four games Salo missed earlier this season due to groin problems, the Canucks are 3- 5- 1 without him.
For the first time, the Canucks clearly miss departed free agent Christian Ehrhoff, who gave Vancouver five defenceman who could play 20- 25 minutes.
That enabled the Canucks to sustain one key injury without losing anything from the blueline’s top four. Salo missed the entire first half of last season and top defenceman Alex Edler most of the second, yet Vancouver still amassed 117 points and won the Presidents’ Trophy.
But with Ehrhoff in Buffalo and Salo out, Canuck coach Alain Vigneault has been unable to plug the hole in his top four, which is why minor- league callup Chris Tanev gets the chance to play there this afternoon.
If Salo sits out Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers, he’ll get the benefit of the Canucks’ six- day all- star break and should be able to play Jan. 31 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Vigneault sees the wisdom in sitting Salo as long as possible, but also said there could be a psychological benefit to the veteran if he plays Tuesday.
Salo said he wants to play as soon as possible, and he knew by the end of the last road trip that he’d probably play again because his post- concussion symptoms began to abate. His laundry list of injuries had never included a concussion.
“The only frustrating part is the injuries you can’t control ... like somebody taking your feet out,” Salo said.
“I’d never had any headaches. It was new to me ... bad headaches, pressure [ in your head], nausea. It was frightening for sure. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.”