Long-term injuries are always a concern in professional sports, as the fortunes of a franchise can change with the break of a bone or the tear of a ligament.
From the perspective of a contending team like the St. Louis Blues, the abdominal injury to defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk came at the right time, with a month to go before the NHL trade deadline and 2 ½ months before the playoffs.
The All-Star blueliner is slated to have surgery within 7 – 10 days and will be out week-to-week.
Shattenkirk leads all defensemen in assists, averages nearly 23 minutes per game and is an integral part of the Blues power play. The severity of the injury and uncertain recovery time may put Blues GM Doug Armstrong in a buying mode to add some insurance before March 2nd.
From the point of view of a selling team like the Toronto Maple Leafs, injuries to players that the club is preparing to trade represent a potential lost opportunity to obtain assets.
Teams all but eliminated from post-season consideration normally play a waiting game hoping to generate more interest in players being shopped and pull the trigger a few days before the deadline when the return is at its highest, but that approach can have negative consequences if the player in question gets hurt while the team is trying to deal him.
For Toronto(especially this season), another consideration is how Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli, Daniel Winnik and others might affect their positioning in the overall standings and how much difference there would be in the return if deals were made now or made three weeks from now.
With an upcoming draft class that not only has two generational talents but other potential impact players at the top of the first round, any opportunity to improves the chances of obtaining those future assets should be taken.
There has to be a realization among the Leafs hierarchy, most importantly Team President Brendan Shanahan, that the best avenue to add a future #1 center or top pairing defenseman is not free agency and not trades, but through the draft.
In 2008 and 2009, Cliff Fletcher and Brian Burke ignored the desire and willingness of the Toronto fan base to tear down the Leafs roster and try to position the club to draft frnachise players like Steven Stamkos and John Tavares.
Six years later, the same desire and willingness is there and the organization must seize on that opportunity this time around.
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TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on Tuesday that Maple Leafs management have done their due diligence regarding potential trades, but have not made up their mind when to start making moves.
Cody Franson is expected to attract numerous suitors as a power play point man and right-handed shot defenseman, but signing the 26-year-old defenseman to an extension seems to be a long shot.
Dreger reports that the club likely will not make the pending free agent a long-term offer in excess of $5 Million per season and that Toronto will get a 2nd round pick and an additional piece for the defenseman.
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The Leafs continue their three-game road trip on Tuesday in Nashville against the Central Division-leading Predators. The previous meeting between the two clubs was the infamous 9-2 demolishing at Air Canada Center on November 18.
The Preds are tied with Anaheim in the President's Trophy race with 70 points, are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and are continuing to win with backup Carter Hutton in goal instead of the injured Pekka Rinne.
Toronto finished the month of January with a 1-0 shutout loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. The loss was the Leafs ninth straight defeat and their fourth time being blanked in a month that saw them go 1-11-1 and score only 16 goals.
Veteran defenseman Stephane Robidas took the morning skate in Nashville and is expected to make his return after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury. Dion Phaneuf also skated with teammates at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, but Leafs TV's Paul Hendrick indicated that the Leafs captain is still at least a week away from returning from a hand injury.
Jonathan Bernier, who has a 8-3-0 career record against the Predators, will get the start for Toronto.
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