Chicago Blackhawks’ centre Jonathan Toews in another injury scare -NHL News
The 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season might be on the line for Chicago Blackhawks’ captain and centre, Jonathan Toews, who has suffered another injury on the way to recovery from concussion-like symptoms.
Toews is reported to have suffered an upper-body injury and according to some speculations, it is concussion, which makes his return during the current season almost impossible.
Blackhawks only have 11 more games to play this regular season, and the comeback of the captain, who has already missed the same number of games, now looks even more remote.
He had recently returned to practice and skated along with teammates, after sitting out for quite a while owing to the concussion-like symptoms. Just when the team was about to announce his return, he has suffered another injury.
The team has confirmed that the player would not be available for Dallas Stars’ game on Friday, March 16, 2012, and the miss will make his absence from the side for exactly a dozen of games.
Blackhawks, while acknowledging the latest problem, refrained from speculating his comeback, saying they could only hope for it to happen before the end of the regular season.
Blackhawks’ coach, Joel Quenneville, said:
"Whether it's a setback or a part of the process, that's what we're dealing with. It's a concern. You miss a guy like that and look forward to having him back at some point, but at the same time you look forward and take care of what we can control and that's
our next game."
While responding to the question regarding the player’s return this season, the coach commented:
"Well, let's hope so. That'd be great. We were hoping he'd be back earlier than this, but part of it is you've just got to deal with it -- as an individual and us -- and be optimistic that he'll be around and go from there."
Even though the team did not openly admit that the player’s absence is going to be a major setback on their run to the playoffs, by all standards, it is not a good development for them.
Blackhawks with 84 points are at 6th position in the Western Conference but are chased by two teams at 7th and 8th positions, respectively, with 81 points each. There are two more teams at 9th and 10th
positions with 80 points each.
Given that there is not much point-difference between them and the other four, Blackhawks’ could face difficulties in maintaining the lead, let alone looking to improve it.
The captain’s absence will certainly make them work harder to remain in the playoff race.
As stated by the coach and other officials, they can only hope for earliest possible return of the player.
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