Early-season injuries force roster juggling, but create opportunities

Daniel Sedin, Johan Franzen, Erik Cole

Photos courtesy of Mcphersonm80 and Dan4th Nicholas – Wikimedia Commons

–

Vancouver Canuck Daniel Sedin, one half of the Wonder Twins, had missed exactly one game in his last five full seasons. He will be out four to six weeks after his left foot got in the way of a teammate’s slap shot. He was joined on the sidelines by his teammate, the oft-injured Sami Salo, who will be out three to five weeks with a sprained MCL.

In Detroit, Johan Franzen, now an important cog in the Red Wing offense after the off-season mass exodus from Hockeytown, tore the ACL in his left knee and will be out a minimum of four months.

In Carolina, Erik Cole breaks his leg in the second game of the season. Out four to six weeks. In Montreal, Andrei Markov gets his ankle sliced by a teammate’s skate and will be out for four months.

Welcome to the 2009-10 NHL season, where the hospital beds are quickly filling up.

It’s hard to remember any previous season where so many front-line players have been hit with significant injuries so early in the season. And this doesn’t even count players like Marian Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Patrik Elias and Phil Kessel, who started the season on injured reserve and won’t be back in their respective lineups for several weeks.

When long-term injuries hit this early in the season, lineup spots open up for players who might have been final-day cuts — players almost impressive enough to make the roster — or players who just barely made the team but who have been perpetual pressbox occupants thus far. For these players, it’s their second chance.

In Vancouver, Michael Grabner, whose hopes for a top-six spot were dashed by a disappointing pre-season, has been called up after a great start with the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate. It appears he will get a crack at filling the left-wing spot vacated by Sedin — and if Grabner struggles, recent demotee Sergei Shirokov will probably be the next candidate. Meanwhile, Aaron Rome, whose pre-season performance won him an NHL roster spot (albeit as an extra defenseman), will try to step into Salo’s shoes on the blueline.

Meanwhile, Detroit is taking a different approach to replace “The Mule”, mixing the lines up to combine Pavel Datsyuk (who had been playing with Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom) with Todd Bertuzzi and Henrik Zetterberg. The injury did give youngster Justin Abdelkader a new lease on life, as he was quickly recalled from the minors after being sent down the day before.

Carolina, rather than try to replace Cole’s offense, is using the opportunity to become grittier, inserting Tim Conboy into their lineup.

Montreal, looking for defense help from their minor-league affiliate, has already auditioned and returned Yannick Weber, who accumulated a plus/minus of -4 in three games. Next up: Shawn Belle, recalled from Hamilton on Tuesday.

Derek Jung is a contributing writer covering the Vancouver Canucks for The Hockey Writers.