Not giving up: Pronger returns to Philadelphia, says much, but doesn't say retirement

Thanks to CSN Philly

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 
 
Voorhees, NJ -- Chris Pronger isn't retiring, has some good and bad days while dealing with post-concussion syndrome, but in his first appearance before local media since his last on-ice appearance, on Thursday afternoon at Skate Zone, showed he clearly hasn't lost his sense of humor.

"Right now I have a headache, but I just saw you, so..." Pronger quipped to former nemesis Tim Panaccio when asked for the umpteenth time how he felt while at the podium.

The 38-year-old hasn't played a game for the Philadelphia Flyers since November of 2011, but his presence still looms large over a franchise he helped guide to the Stanley Cup Finals three years ago.

We haven't heard anything from the Dryden, Ontario native since that fateful Saturday evening in Winnipeg when he played his final NHL contest, but insight into his life beyond hockey, 16 months on, came in a piece run by Canada's Sportsnet on Wednesday.

But there he was, a study in contrasts, looking outwardly professorial when on the inside, things are far from that orderly and precise.

Pronger naturally began his remarks with regard for the team which provided him with his final NHL home.

"First, I want to thank the organization for all their support...from Mr. Snider to 'Homer' to the medical staff, coaching staff and teammates. The way I've been treated has been fantastic. I can't say enough about what that's meant to my family. I've made some improvements from where I was but I have a lot of work ahead of me."

When asked why he kept silent at the outset of the season: "I just didn't think the time was right. The focus needed to be on the hockey team and those who are playing."

But pressed for something meatier, a hook, a hint on whether this really is the end of the line, the Pronger we knew and loved (while wearing the Orange and Black, anyway) roared to the surface: "This doesn't look like this type of conference, so no. I'm trying to work towards getting healthy."

For someone who isn't retiring, Pronger seemed a bit circumspect, philosophical at times during the 28-minute gathering, saying, "I think everybody who has ever played a professional sport wants to go out on his terms, but as we all know that rarely happens."

Interesting thoughts, given that today is the 15th anniversary of Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis' hit on Eric Lindros, which gave the then-Flyers captain a Grade III concussion -- at the time the most severe of his career -- and kick-started the degeneration of the health of a game-changing player in NHL history.

Whether Pronger's idea is to get back onto the ice at some point or to try and focus on having a good future life beyond the game, there are many roadblocks facing someone who sustained such severe injuries in a short period of time. He spoke about difficulty in speech and thought patterns, revealing:
"If I've done a lot sometimes (the day before) I'll wake up with a headache. My cognitive ability comes and goes at times. Sometimes I'll start talking and get going and forget where I am, then start back up again and keep going."

There was also this little telling nugget, courtesy of some unnamed sources from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who have worked with him through this troubled time: "I have some vulnerabilities that they are very worried about. "

And of course, while he wouldn't take the obvious bait from a reporter in light of Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro's comments about his own struggles to deal with debilitating injuries, Pronger did admit there continue to be bleak times on his road to recovery.

"I think you get agitated quickly...you're on edge as it is. Pissed off you can't play a game that you love, and that you have a headache, you're more pissed off that you're light-headed or dizzy and your kid comes over and you snap, and you're not the father you want to be. I still get a 'grrr' from time to time but I'm getting better with it."

But in true hockey spirit forged in tough country in small-town Western Ontario, and honed through 18 years in the NHL, the husband and father to three children knows he has to continue the fight every day.

"You can sit there alone, depressed with the 'why me' but then you snap out of it, start doing things for yourself, your kids and your wife. I want to be there for my family."

One of the things he's doing for his teammates, is providing support as they face another stiff test with a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins later tonight. Despite the sheer magnitude and volume of both the pre-and-in-game festivities plus what will be an amped-up and vocal crowd, Pronger says he's going to give it a go in the stands tonight.
 
"I should make it through the game if I want to stay. I still have symptoms with loud noises, moving parts and bright lights. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's getting better. I don't have peripheral vision. I keep having to get stronger and stronger glasses."

Then, it's right back to the grind, where Pronger and his team of medical personnel are keeping a close watch on his progress.

"I can't do anything where I'm moving around a lot. I can't run. I lift a little bit. I'm at the stage now where they want me to push the envelope and see what I can do and where my symptoms return."

Despite his cautious optimism and drive to return to the ice, it's not hard to see the writing on the wall, script which may be hidden, or invisible to Pronger himself but obvious to everyone who has followed this drama ever since the Flyers captain left the ice clutching his face, in obvious pain, on home ice two Octobers ago. 

Besides, as an injured player he can't be bought out per rules of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and really can't retire or risk serious complications to the Flyers' salary-cap situation, which is tenuous at best right now and slated to get more complicated when the ceiling decreases for next year. 

Still, it's hard not to think that deep down inside, he knows that a return to hockey is a logical impossibility.

"I miss going out and playing in the heat of battle with my boys. I miss the adrenaline rush. I got no regrets. I played hard every night played to win, was lucky to win a Stanley Cup and a couple of Gold medals."

Pronger pronounced out for season, playoffs

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

The Philadelphia Flyers have pulled the plug on the comeback hopes for defenseman and team captain Chris Pronger.

The club issued a statement during Thursday's game in Montreal.

"After consultation with respected concussion specialists Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Micky Collins, it is the opinion of both doctors that Chris is suffering from severe post concussion syndrome," said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. "It is the recommendation of Doctors Maroon and Collins that Chris not return to play for the Philadelphia Flyers for the remainder of the 2011-12 season or playoffs. Chris will continue to receive treatment and therapy with the hope that he can get better."

Pronger was pronounced out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms only six days ago, in the wake of his suffering from what was called a "mystery virus" followed by left knee surgery.

The 37-year-old also was out of action for almost three weeks after being struck in the face with the errant stick of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovsky in late October.

Pronger was the usual "force to be reckoned with" when healthy on a limited basis, totaling one goal and 12 points in 13 games this season.

Holmgren talks Pronger downgrade 12/9/11

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers

Q: What changed with Chris?

“I think over the last few days he’s had some difficulties… a fairly persistent headache, just sluggish feeling – so we’re just trying to do the right thing here and get him checked out by the doctors in Pittsburgh and just see what we’re dealing with. Is it a concussion? I don’t know that we know that. We want to get a better idea, obviously.”

Q: There’s still no idea what it might have stemmed from? The high stick?

“I don’t know. I looked yesterday and I think he played four games after that particular incident after missing some time. I talked to him after the game in Winnipeg and he said he didn’t feel great in that game. He didn’t feel like himself. We got him checked out after that game and before our next game, and then obviously the dominoes started to fall with his knee, and we said a virus at first because we weren’t sure what we were dealing with. Just over the last two or three days he’s got a fairly persistent headache and a really sluggish feeling.”

Q: It probably was not a virus?

“I don’t know. That’s a good question. I don’t know that we’ll ever know that. We didn’t know what we were dealing with then and I’m not sure we do now. But concussion-like symptoms continue to persist, so we’re just going to get him checked.”

Q: Have you seen these kinds of symptoms the way he’s been having them?

“I don’t know. The protocol that we utilize now for concussions, obviously it’s very thorough. We're going through a similar thing with Brayden Schenn right now. I know he got hit in the nose in the game in Phoenix, or just below his nose… felt great and continued to play in the game, felt fine on the way home. I think we had an off-day the next day, came in Monday and he didn’t feel great. We kept him off the ice… he got checked on Tuesday, did an IMPACT test and passed that. He went out for practice, felt pretty good halfway through practice, and then came off at the end of practice and didn’t feel great. So we’re going to shut him down. Those are the rules and that’s what we’re dealing with.”

Q: So Chris passed a test before and now he’s failed one?

“I don’t think he’s had one since then. He passed the first one, this is going back actually before the first game he missed from what we said was a virus. We haven’t given him one since. Most of this has just come up in the last two or three days where he’s just got these symptoms that seem like concussion-like symptoms. So we’re going to get him checked.”

Q: The doctor in Pittsburgh has become the doctor of choice?

“Dr. Maroon has been used before with Ian Laperriere from a couple years ago, with his issues we sent Ian there to see him. Obviously he’s become more of a concussion star with Sidney, I guess.”

Q: Is there a timetable on Schenn?

“We’re going to keep him shut down through the weekend here and see how he is on Monday.”

Q: Schenn is not going to Pittsburgh because his symptoms aren’t as severe?

“Right. Right now we just see this as a mild concussion.”

Q: Does this put the pressure on to make any kind of move?

“Well, we have seven defensemen right now that are healthy and we’re happy with their play. Every other day, you’re talking with somebody about what’s out there, but I like the way our team is playing right now. I like the way the young kids have played on defense, and I don’t feel a need to really rush into anything.”

Q: How frustrated is Chris?

“I feel bad for Chris. He’s a very experienced hockey player that still wants to play the game at the highest level. I know this last year for him has been very frustrating, with the injuries he had last year and to have to deal with what he’s dealt with this year. He’s frustrated.

Q: If this turns into a long term thing…

“I still feel like between Kimmo and Matty Carle and [Braydon Coburn] and [Andrej Meszaros] we still have four pretty good guys that can play a lot of minutes. On the other hand, it’ hard to replace a Chris Pronger no matter what you do. You’re not gonna get that guy. We’ll see what happens over the next little while. Hopefully we’ll get some better news after Chris visits the doctors in Pittsburgh, and we’ll see what happens from there.

Q: This hasn’t kept him from rehabbing his knee?

“He’s had some fluid taken off his knee since the surgery. This was a couple days ago… that’s the reason he shut down that part. His knee’s actually doing great right now. I think he was on the right timetable to come back from the arthroscopic surgery he had. This other thing is just kind of getting in the way right now, and we need to get some answers and get to the bottom of it.

Pronger talks sickness, surgery

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers

Q: When did you have your surgery and how are you feeling?

A: I had the surgery on Tuesday afternoon. I’m feeling okay just ice and elevation, trying to get the swelling out and I start my rehab tomorrow

Q: Holmgren said the other day that you would be out for 4 weeks. Are you optimistic that it will be four weeks? Do you think you could be back sooner than that?

A: I have no idea. Again, I had surgery two days ago, so once I start getting my rehab going, as I progress through that I’ll know a bit more. Gauging off of when I had my other knee done a couple of years ago, a month sounds about right, but again, it may be 3 weeks, it may be 6 weeks, I don’t know. We just kind of gave a ballpark number because we don’t really know.

Q: You mentioned the other surgery and that one took about 9 weeks. Homer said he thought that one was more involved…did the doctors tell you what was different about this surgery compared to the one you had two years ago?

A: There was a little bit more damage on the one a couple years ago. There were pretty big chunks they took out and it was not as clean as this knee was. The doctor was pretty pleased when he got in there to see what exactly was involved and was pretty please with what he saw.

Q: Did you feel like you were almost ready to come back from the virus and then this whole thing with the knee came up?

A: Well, my knee had kind of been bothering me. It’s gradually gotten worse since I came back from the eye injury. When I stopped skating, as I started to try to work out, it started to bother me. I’d do daily workouts and try to do legs every other day and it got to a point where I couldn’t do my leg workouts so I knew something was wrong. I went and got the MRI and got a plan to get it fixed very quickly as opposed to last time, Tim, when you got mad at me for doing it so late.

Q: Was there anything that you did when you played that would have contributed to this injury?

A: Not that I know of. I don’t remember ever getting hit; I don’t remember ever catching it in a rut or doing anything. I don’t know what it’s from…I have a couple suspicions, but I don’t really know.

Q: How frustrating is this for you? Last year you said was the season from hell and this year so far you’ve had three different issues. How tough it for you mentally now with this kind of start?

A: Again, I was pretty pleased with how my summer went with training and obviously got in a preseason game and felt like I got a pretty good start to the season. When you have a fluke injury where you get slashed in the face with a stick and now the knee, it’s a little disheartening. But I felt like I was playing pretty well when I got hurt the first time. It just sets you back. You’re just starting to get your rhythm, you’re starting to get in your groove and you’re comfort level is very high and this kind of sets you back. I have to go through that whole process again whenever I do get back.

Q: How scary was the virus? When we asked Paul he didn’t really know what it was. He said there were tests but it wasn’t anything overly-serious…

A: I just didn’t feel well. I didn’t know what it was, we said it was a virus but I didn’t know what it was. I had never felt like that before, where I had headaches and nausea and all the rest of that stuff. So I had a concussion test. I took the baseline test and passed that… I’ve just never felt like this where you get lightheaded, you have headaches, you’re nauseous...It’s been a bit of a mystery with what exactly is going on. I did some blood-work and we’re trying to get to the bottom of what’s going on.

Q: Is this one of those things, with your surgery, where you might’ve been able to play but you wanted to take care of it so that when it comes time for the games that really matter—the playoffs—you can be 100 percent?

A: I think if it was the playoffs or the Stanley Cup Final, I could play, but it was to the point where I wouldn’t have played very well. We can always say we can play but at what level and at what detriment are you playing? At this stage in the season, not knowing the other side of it, it was prudent to get it done now so that if I’m able to return in 4 weeks, let’s say, then I’m able to get 3 weeks in before the all star break and then put the hammer down after that, as we get into the playoff stretch.

Q: When you go through something like this-- when you’ve had so many surgeries-- do u do any soul searching and say, my body’s breaking down here, how long do I want to go through this? Or do you say to yourself, hey, I did have a fluke injury with the eye but now I have both of my knees taken care of so they should be good to go for a few more years…?

A: Well you have to look at the injuries in their totality. I got hit with a puck and I broke my foot. I got hit with a puck in the hand and I broke my hand. I got slashed in the face and hurt my eye. The knees are things that, you know, I hurt my knee in the game against Boston in the Stanley cup playoff and this one was from I don’t know what.

The only one that was really perplexing was the back. I don’t really know how or what happened there and probably never will. It’s just one of those things. You look at the number of the injuries and they would seem to be kind of fluky. Three of them I got hit with the puck or a stick. Are those everyday hockey occurrences? Yeah, it could happen to anybody. When you play the game hard and you play a lot of minutes you’re that much more inclined to have something happen to you because you’re always out there.

So you still have to take a look at it as, yeah, I’ve had a lot of surgeries and it takes a toll on your body but you’ve got to continue to follow rehab protocol and follow guidance of the doctors and try to make sure that you’re doing the best you can to take care of your body and take care of your mind at the same time to prepare yourself to be ready when you do get back.

Q: Just to be clear, are you still dealing with the effects of the virus? Or whatever you said you wanted to call it?

A: Yeah, I’m not quite…again, we’re still trying to ascertain what’s going on, and like I said, I’ve never felt like this before so...I don’t really know what’s going on.

Solution hard to see on visor issue

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

So the debate rages on across North America this morning.

Flyers captain Chris Pronger suffers a potentially serious eye injury when struck by the follow-through of Toronto forward Mikhail Grabovski, and suddenly the world wants visors mandatory in the National Hockey League.

Only the critics are forgetting one thing: do the players themselves really want it? And that's the only thing that counts.

The tenor of discussions of that very point took very telling turns last night.

Comcast SportsNet hockey analyst Rick Tocchet (who played from 1984-2002), when asked whether he thought visors should be mandatory, instead dodged the question and stammered some nonsense about how he never did want to wear one. But Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, in postgame comments, made it clear that not only would Pronger be required to wear a visor, but also that Holmgren thought Pronger would now want to wear one after going through this ordeal.

That remains to be seen, for even necessary change will not come easy to an 18-year NHL veteran who has refused to wear protection over his face for his entire hockey life.

Constant replays of the gruesome incident last night called to mind the more horrific occurrence late in the 1999-2000 season. That's when Ottawa's Marian Hossa took a nine-iron-type swing with his stick and connected full-force with Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard's face. The energy of the blow exploded the inner contents of Berard's right eye onto the ice in a viscous red flow. It was widely accepted that Berard's career was finished.

In typical fashion, reactions from all corners of hockeydom poured in. It's time to get players to wear visors.

But it never caught on.

Dozens of hits and misses have come and gone, all with the same reaction and not action.

Hockey players are creatures of habit, and you're not going to tell a full-grown man who has made his way in the sport since he could walk that he's going to change his ways. That's the only logical end to talk that the NHL should implement a mandatory visor rule.

Besides, the NHL Players' Association is too strong these days. There's no Alan Eagleson in cahoots with the league to grease both sides to get the helmet rule of 1979 passed without argument. And there are no doubt players reps' who oppose any imposition. That's the key issue: whether the league and the PA can work out a solution that won't ruffle any feathers. Good luck with that.

And why not use Berard's example as Devils' Advocate?

After all, the 1997 Calder Trophy winner only missed a little over one NHL season before returning to play for six more years. Berard underwent seven separate eye operations in just under a calendar year in order to correct his vision to 20/400 -- then the league minimum for clearance to return to the ice. He also turned in his injury settlement, totaling $6.5 million, which was his presumed going-away present for time served.

Of course, a decade on, any player who suffers this misfortune can look at Berard's example, just dip into the vast fund their contract affords and contact their friendly neighborhood ophthalmologist or eye surgeon for an eventual fix.

That's the wrong message of course, but making millions of dollars to play a game tends to cloud one's judgment no matter how young or old. I only wish I had the means to maintain such a blind spot.

So, in the wake of such stubborn opposition, I think the league shouldn't do a thing about it.

Let the players hash it out amongst themselves -- give them the power they've complained that NHL is taking away by changing the rules about fighting. Whoever abides will have a greater shot at survival. Whoever doesn't, assumes the risk of losing their livelihood. It's no time for Gary Bettman to play nanny when each individual locker room has 25 big boys who are capable of making their own choices.

On the local front, never mind that the Flyers already boast three players (arry Ashbee, Bernie Parent and Ian Laperriere) who have seen their careers ended due to eye injuries.

Never mind that Brian Propp nearly had his vision permanently altered due to a Lindy Ruff high stick in 1986 -- and that he never played another professional game without a face shield. Let Pronger decide for himself, and the rest of the locker room for themselves.

Forget that the league's owners and GMs are trying to protect their investments. Give the players the opportunity to forge their own destinies whether they can foresee the consequences or not.

And as it always does, let the talk die down until the next bombastic event turns the tide of debate somewhere else.

Holmgren on Pronger

Following Monday's 4-2 win over Toronto, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren addressed questions surrounding Chris Pronger's eye injury:

Q: Did he go to the hospital?

A: “No, our eye doctor came here. He’s going to see the eye doctor every day for the next four days. We think after that time that he’ll be out of, we don’t want to say danger, but if everything goes ok and if the swelling goes down, he should start on some kind of an exercise program shortly after that, and we’re hoping he’ll be able to rejoin the team within ten days to two weeks. And skating-wise, not necessarily playing wise.”

Q: Is there a prognosis on it?

A: “Well, not really. The prognosis is that he was hit on the side here and there’s a lot of swelling around his eye and the hope is that the blood doesn’t build up there and create issues. That’s why he’s going to be on bedrest here for the next four days.”

Q: Which doctor?

“Doctor Goldman.”

Q: Holmgren, when this happens, what will be the course of action?

“Well, when Chris comes back, he’ll be wearing a visor. We made it mandatory in the American Hockey League and it’s not an issue. Obviously some of these players have been around a long time and for whatever reason they don’t want to wear them. I think the improvements on the visor over the last few years, compared to what it was ten or 15 years ago, are tremendous. Other than getting a little sweat in there and some water on the visor, I don’t think it’s a big issue.”

Q: Did he lose his sight at all?

A: “No. It was blurred.”

Q: Because of the salary cap right now, I don’t know if you guys can afford to bring somebody else up or are you comfortable with Lilja, Walker and…

A: “We have players we can use. We’ll be fine.”

Q: But he was obviously in a lot of pain?

A: “He wasn’t in the mood to talk. I think he was very scared, and rightly so. When something like that happens to your eye, you’re worried and you don’t know what’s going on, but I think he settled down over a period of time and was fine.”

Q: Did you think Toronto was a little careless with their sticks tonight overall?

A: “It’s a fast game, and things happen quickly. The first six games you could say we were careless with our sticks. It’s a freak accident, and obviously a very scary accident.”

Pronger answers burning questions in Thursday presser

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers

Q: How did the surgery go and how are you feeling?

”Well, as far as I was told it went very well. It relieved a lot of the weakness I was having in my leg and now it is just a matter of how the nerve regenerates itself and the range of motion and all the rest of that stuff. How it recovers and that stuff are probably another four to five weeks before we see where that is at.”

Q: Can you tell us about the decision to have the surgery, was that an option you were given or was it pretty clear you had to have it?

“It was an option, but in order for me to try and play hockey again it was pretty cut and dry. I could have went through the whole summer rehab and you know, get another steroid injection and see if that calms the nerve down, but it was a pretty bad herniated disc. The odds of it becoming an issue again were very high. In my estimation it wasn’t really that high of a chance of not having the surgery done if I wanted to play anymore.”

Q: Was this the first time you’ve had issue with your back? I didn’t notice any other problems that you have had in your career.

“No, this is the first time I have ever really had any real problems with my back, obviously you get sore and whatever, but any serious or medical issues, no this is the first time.”

Q: Did the doctors say you were going to be back at full strength or is this going to reduce your play at all?

“Well, like anything else, especially with the back, there’s no guarantee, and that was one of the things we wanted to find out when I went and met with the doctor and what his recommendations are and what he has seen. Everybody is different and everybody recovers differently and you hope that you’re able to recover a hundred percent, but that’s never a guarantee and you never know. It’s still very early to be able to tell that. I won’t know that until probably training camp or maybe even further on, who knows.”

Q: But you do expect to start the season, right?

“I don’t know, as I said today is day fourteen post surgery, so again I’m not going to know. I go back for another check up in three to four weeks and then you know ill begin to start rehab and I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I’m not Kreskin, I can’t look into the future and tell you what’s going to happen or not happen. Time is really all you can, time and patience, which I know you guys don’t have a lot of.”

Q: You’re a big Kreskin fan, huh? A couple times you’ve mentioned it.

“Yeah, you’re on the ball sir. I like it. I may throw it out there a few more times depending on the questions you guys give me”

Q: I know you’re not a doctor but for the laymen and all… from how I understand it there’s an extrapolation up against your nerve. What did they do to repair it? Did they remove it or shave it?

“Actually, I think they cut it, trim it, whatever terminology you want to use, shave it, I’m not sure of the exact term that you can use. Basically, they removed the impingement that is pushing against the nerve root in order to alleviate, we can call it vibrations, sensations, weakness that you have in your leg and you hope that that nerve. You know the reason you want to do it as quickly as possible from what I got from my meeting with the doctor was you don’t want the nerve exposed to that too long. It just creates more and more damage and you want that nerve to be able to regenerate so that you can get as much strength back as possible.”

Q: Is it similar to the surgery Michael Leighton had?

“I have no idea.”

Q: A couple guys on your team said that even though you guys were eliminated two rounds earlier this year they actually think that you are closer to a Stanley Cup  right now then you were last year. Do you agree with that assessment?

“Yeah, I think when you look at the strides that some of our younger guys have made. You look at how Claude Giroux improved immensely this year. You Look at James van Riemsdyk from the beginning of the year and how he finished the year, he made leaps and bounds in how he played. You know, you look at things like that, as we all know a lot of what happens for teams is the health factor and how guys are. Last year we were fairly healthy, especially on the back end we were real healthy. We obviously went through a ton of goalies through  injury and up front we had a number of guys hurt, but if we can stay healthy next year I certainly feel we definitely have a chance just like we did this year and  I thought we did last year as well.”

Q: Chris, do you think that it is important for this team to get a goalie and bridge that gap for [Sergei] Bobrovsky?

“Well as we all know, it’s never easy. When I was in St. Louis, it was always we need to get a goalie, we needed to get a goalie, we needed to do this, we needed to do that. They don’t grow on trees, even the ones you get you never know. You just don’t know. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. That’s the difficult part of it. What do you have to give up to get one? What are the ramifications for your team? Again, that’s above my pay grade, I don’t know what we’re going to do, who you’re going to get, or how you are going to get them. That’s for management and ownership to decide what they’re willing to do. You could go get whoever, you name a guy, you could go get him. It’s not a guarantee that you’re going to win. Which seems to me, you guys think you go get a goalie and all of a sudden you win; it’s not that easy.”

Q: Do you think it would have been a different series if you had played against the Bruins?

“I don’t know. You know what, I’d like to think so, but I don’t know. I am not going to look into the past and say could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. We lost plain and simple. I didn’t play, I was hurt. End of story. You guys have got to cut the cord and move on. No more arm-chair quarterbacking.”

Q: How much time do you feel like you have left in your body?

“Well again, I don’t know…I felt good when I played this year. That the funny thing, every time I started to feel better and started to get my feet underneath me and get back into the grove, I had another injury. You talk about the other season, I basically missed the whole season, I played five games and I had my wrist issue where I had reconstructive surgery on my wrist. Mentally I feel like I can play. When I was healthy, my play speaks for itself. It’s a matter of staying healthy. This year was very tough, every time I turned around I had another injury. It wasn’t like it was a bump and a bruise, it was something broken that needed surgery to fix. 

That can be a little disappointing and frustrating, when you know you can still play at a high level and your play speaks to that and you’re not able to go out and play. That’s tough, especially when you feel like you can add another element to the team when you’re out there. Mentally I’ve got a lot left, it’s how my back feels. Basically, if the surgery works and I am able to train properly and get healthy, I don’t see why I can’t continue to play as long as I want, as long as everything else holds up.”

Q: Did you feel an immediate impact from that surgery? Did you feel relief right away?

“I did, yeah. I no longer had the burning sensation and the shooting pain down my leg was gone. Obviously you can’t move all that much, they don’t want you bending, twisting, doing all the rest of that stuff. You’ve got to let the back heal up. Obviously it’s a very sensitive area with nerves and all the rest of it. So, you’ve got to be very careful. You want to make sure you don’t want to rush things like this. You want to make sure you have all summer, training camp, the start of the year. I don’t know when I will be healthy, when it will be back. I hope it comes back and it’s a hundred percent, but I want to make sure I take my time and rehab it properly and do all the things necessary to make sure that it is a hundred percent when I do come back and there’s no issues moving forward after that.”

Q: How is the rehab for the back going to affect the rehab you do for your hand? Can you do one while you’re waiting to start on the other?

“I am actually doing that right now, as we speak. I’ve got different things that I do on the days when I am not doing hand therapy with a hand specialist. Just continue to try to gain strength back and work on my hand to try to get it back to where it needs to be to play the game properly. It’s the same answer basically for my back, time heals most wounds. I am sure a long summer of rehab and what not will get that back to where it needs to be play at a high level, hold my stick, and do all the rest of those things that way I need to be a good hockey player.”

Q: It requires a lot of patience doesn’t it?

“It does, it does. It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of patience in order to kind of go through the different steps to reach each hurdle. As you progress in the rehab protocol, you’ve got to hit a hurdle and then you go to the next one. It takes time, you can’t just jump back in to things you want to do. While you may want to do those things, you’ve got to just buy your time and be patient and just work through the various steps that have been put in place, kind of gauge yourself. You’re going to feel good but you just got to gauge it. A lot of times you’ve got to tap down a little bit and slow yourself down; you get antsy. It was a tough year, but I want to be able to use this time to make sure I’m healthy when I come back.”

Q: Has the doctor given you a time table for when you can start skating? I think he said in about four weeks you would be doing some things, but is that skating or do you know what’s next for that part of it?

“Again, Sam, I am going to say it one last time, patience. Time, we got lots of time. I don’t know when I am going to be able to skate. I didn’t even ask, that was the last thing on my mind. There are a lot of hurdles that I need to cross before I can begin skating and all the rest of that stuff. I can’t really do anything for six weeks, not four. So, once I go and get checked up, I will be able to get the Q and A on the progressing further along and begin my rehab.”

Q: Have you been watching the NHL Playoffs? Are you finding yourself rooting for anybody in particular, maybe a former teammate, anything like that?

“I have not watched, I have watched some highlights, but I haven’t been watching too intently. I have not been rooting for anyone, just rooting for long series. I want every series to go seven.”

Q: At the end of the season, Paul [Holmgren] said he couldn’t figure out why this team didn’t play as well as it did the first half of the season. Do you have any thoughts about that at all?

“I don’t. You know, I think everybody would have liked to get better as the season progressed and those are the teams that usually progress further into the playoffs. I think we’ve seen that with the four teams that are in the conference finals. All four of those teams got better as the season went along and that’s what you need to do be successful is playing your best hockey at the right times, and we weren’t. That is something for whatever reason we didn’t do. I don’t think I have an answer for why. I know you’ve got a lot of opinions on it. I couldn’t give you the answer as to why.  There’s going to be 29 other teams in the same boat as us. So, it sucks. You set out to have a goal and you don’t achieve that goal it’s very disappointing. 

There are always arm chair quarterbacks, there’s always people looking in, looking for excuses or answers as to why this happened, that happened. At the end of the day, we didn’t get the job done. We’ve got to use the summer properly and make sure we are ready to go for September, whatever the start of camp is 15^th or 16^th, make sure once we set foot on the ice, we’re focused and understand what we need to do to be successful and follow through on that.”

Q: Coming off that, a lot of fingers were pointed at Mike Richards, I am sure you have heard some of the things that were said about him…

“I have not. I have not. I have a simple answer for you. 

When a team wins, players get pats on the back or get all the credit. That’s usually your captain, your goalie, all the rest of that. When you lose, whether it’s fair or unfair, the people that get criticized are your captain, and your goalie, and all the way down the line. This is a team sport and for you to be successful you need everyone around you to play well. Whether it’s [Michael Richards], [Jeff Carter], myself, [Kimmo Timonen], [Brian Boucher], [Sergei Bobrovsky]; I mean it’s not just one guy. People can say whatever they want about Richie, but at the end of the day you have to realize it’s a team sport. Actually I did see one, is Sam Donnellon on the call? He’s not? I saw one headline ‘should Mike Richards step away for a year from the C.’ What good does that do? That is the most ridiculous thought I have heard yet. 

This is on the job training for Mike. I was brought in to help him be a captain and do all the rest of that and kind of help with my experiences. I think I got here, he was 24, he’s now 26. I think he’s made some strides. Everybody does things their own way. I wasn’t always this vocal with the media or this patient. It takes time, you have to have those experiences. I think when you go through tough times, maybe this is one of them for him, you learn an awful lot about yourself, you gain a lot of experience. This game and life is not easy.  Nothing in life worthwhile is easy.  If it was, everyone would be able to do it. You learn how to handle different situations and it only makes you better as a player and a person, because you can always look back on those tough times and [know] I was able to come through those with my head held high and better. So will Mike. I went through them as a young captain; I went through them as a player. Getting booed, getting mouthed off walking out of the rink and wanting to fight guys after games and all the rest of it. It’s not easy, especially on a team when the expectations are this high and the fans are this passionate. 

The media, you guys are bickering with one another trying to get the scoops. It’s not easy. I think as his career progresses, he is going to understand more and more what the media’s job is, and just to give you guys a little, just a little bit, just a little taste. Which is what I do, just give you a little taste. You don’t have to give it all, just enough so you guys can do your job and leave him alone. That’s all experience. I think it’s a little ridiculous to be blaming one person.  We win as a team and lose as a team – period, end of story.”