The Montreal Canadiens management has been highly criticized over the course of the team’s historic fall into the depths of the NHL basement this season. Their fall from a 19-4-3 start to a sub-500 record and spot in league cellar was due in part to injuries, most notably to MVP netminder Carey Price, workhorse Brendan Gallagher, and superstar defenceman P.K. Subban. General manager Marc Bergevin kept hush about the major injuries, and although there was hope for Price to return, the team ultimately shut him down for the remainder of the regular season this past week. Did the Canadiens management handle the injuries well?
Canadiens Management: Injuries Handled Well?
When Price got injured in late-October, and returned three weeks later, only to get hurt again, many were wondering if the netminder returned to quickly to action. Originally, Price was supposed to be out a minimum of six weeks, but he suffered a setback and never saw the ice again. After being named to Canada’s World Cup roster in March for the September tournament, the Canadiens and Price held a press conference, where he stated his progress, and admitted he would have liked to return.
He never got his wish, but it was a strange scenario, as Canadiens management was never clear on the nature of his injury, but here he was, fielding questions from the media, saying he will be ready for a tournament that was six months away. The organization was allowing him to play in a pre-season tournament without him playing a game for the team. Odd, to say the least.
For fans, the injury was a mystery. Although hockey clubs do not assess injuries for the fans, the following of the historic team grew frustrated with Canadiens management during their disastrous fall, and after some head-scratching trades, they let out their anger over this injury situation, and blew it out of proportion. If the Canadiens would have continued winning without Price, there might have never been such an uproar from the fans.
In a league where opponents are aware of players’ injuries, and constantly try to wear them down where it hurts, it was normal of the team to not specify the injury before Price was shut down for the season. There was a lot of speculation about whether the injury was in his knee or his groin, and whether it was the same injury as the one suffered earlier in the season. It was revealed that he suffered a MCL strain, and not a tear, which is an injury that does not need surgery, and could take anywhere between three to six weeks to heal.
The Canadiens said that Price never suffered this type of injury before, so why did it take so long? Did he receive the proper treatment? Was his setback mishandled? Did the doctors misjudge the severity of the injury, and it actually was a minor tear? Or simply, did his athletic body not heal properly? In the long-run, the Canadiens management made the right choice and played it safe by keeping him out. What is the point of risking another injury when they had nothing to gain?
There were numerous other injuries that did not grab as much media attention- 18 other Habs were out with injuries this season- but another injury that drew headlines was Subban’s neck injury. After colliding with Alexei Emelin on March 10, Subban was stretchered off and sent to hospital for precautionary reasons, but was released the next day. The team described the injury as “non-serious neck injury” but it kept him out for the next month, despite their initial “minimum two games” timeline.
They handled this injury worse than that of Price’s from a relations stand point. A neck injury is an injury that opponents cannot simply go after, like a hand or leg injury, without getting suspended. So why not reveal the true nature? If it truly was non-serious, he would have returned earlier. Once again, it was smart of the doctors to be careful with him, but the Canadiens management needed a better cover-up story for an injury that is much worse than non-serious.
Past Canadiens management teams, namely the regime of Pierre Gauthier from 2010-2012, have been highly criticized for keeping quiet on certain matters in a media hotbed like Montreal. Bergevin and co. were initially praised for their transparency to the hockey world when it came to trades, the draft and injuries, but they have tarnished themselves with the mishandling of injuries this season.
Before a proverbial forest fire starts, the doctors did a swell job at keeping the players away from further injuries in games that mean nothing, but the Canadiens management needs to assess injuries further before throwing out insignificant timelines.
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