VOORHEES, N.J. – When hockey players get injured, the medical update is usually either “day-to-day,” 10-day injured reserve or long-term injured reserve.
In Owen Tippett’s case, it was really none of the above.
That’s because after Game 2 of the Carolina series, no one knew the severity of Tippett’s injuries, and that’s with an “s.”
A week later, at Tuesday’s team exit interviews, Tippett was able to disclose what kept him out of the entire Hurricane series.
The problems actually began during the Pittsburgh series when Tippett began to experience some symptoms of a problem he couldn’t really pinpoint.
“Obviously got tests,” he said during Tuesday’s player exit interviews at the Flyers Training Center. “Feeling better now. Ultimately, you guys saw I was skating. Just never got to the point where I could get cleared by the trainers and doctors.”
Tippett was able to take part in non-contact drills in between games but that only made the situation tougher.
What were the problems?
For one, he had internal bleeding. Not something to be taken lightly. He is also dealing with the prospect of a sports hernia operation.
“I did not feel a hundred percent,” he said of the second-round experience. “I think it was after Game 6 (vs. Pittsburgh). I don’t remember the exact moment it happened.”
There was a real tug-of-war going on in Tippett’s head. He wanted to play, badly, but doing so might put his overall health in serious jeopardy.
“It was really tough,” he said. “Obviously you put in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work. Any time you sit out for one game or a week, it’s tough to watch.
“To stay around the guys it helped a lot in terms of day-to-day stuff. But it’s something you can’t mess around with. Staying on the ice kept me at peace a little bit but it was kind of tough knowing I was not fully able to function.”
Tippett had an exceptional bounce-back season. He led the team during the regular season with 28 goals. That just made it more difficult to watch his teammates from upstairs against the Hurricanes, who swept the series.
“I think I had a good bounce-back year after last year,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to get to the playoffs and get that experience. I think it’s only going to help us moving forward.”
>Cates’ season ended abruptly
Noah Cates enjoyed the best season of his career but it all came to a crashing stop when he suffered a broken fibula.
He established career highs in goals and points, plus he led the team with a plus-26.
“Took a shot off the foot, wasn’t good to go,” Cates said. “It’s an unfortunate bounce, kind of a nothing play.”
No surgery will be required. He can resume offseason training in about a month.
>Abols injury details
Rodgrigo Abols suffered a broken fibula in his leg on Jan. 17 and his season was over. He underwent surgery and the good news is he’s just about fully mended.
But certainly not the way he wanted it to end.
“Kind of a freak accident I guess,” he said. “Got caught, kind of pushed it out, it didn’t move and in turn my whole weight got put on that leg. I ended up breaking my fibula and damaging my deltoid (muscle).
“Two injuries in one, so a lot of damage there. All the rehab has helped me greatly. I’m ahead of schedule as to where I’m supposed to be. I’m thankful for that.”
>Foerster silent on injury issue
Tyson Foerster was injured for 49 games but he said he would rather let general manager Daniel Briere talk about the details when he speaks to the media on Thursday.
>Contract updates
The Flyers have 10 players who are approaching some form of free agency.
The restricted free agents are Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson and Nikita Grebenkin.
The unrestricted free agents are Rodrigo Abols, Luke Glendening, Garrett Wilson, Noah Juulsen and Carl Grundstrom.
Obviously the Flyers’ top priority players on those lists are Zegras and Drysdale.
Zegras’ current contract is $5.75 million and Drysdale is $2.3 million.
As far back as the middle of the season, Zegras made it known he wants to stay here.
Can the two sides work something out?
“Personally, I would love that,” Zegras said. “I would love to be here for a long time. I would hope that would happen over the next couple months. I don’t know what the timeframe will be. But I love playing here, love the fans, love the group that we have. That would something I would be excited for.”
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