Philadelphia Flyers Lose JVR to Concussion: A Fan's Reaction
You can add James van Riemsdyk to the growing list of Flyers that have missed time because of head injuries. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced that JVR will be out indefinitely with a concussion. It is unclear when exactly he sustained the injury. Some speculate it happened on January 7 against the Ottawa Senators. Regardless of when it happened, this is not good news for the Flyers. As a fan, I can’t recall a rash of injuries that has been like this. Hopefully, JVR will be fine and able to play soon.
It has been a strange week for the young star. Earlier, JVR was the subject of trade rumors involving the Toronto Maple Leafs. Few Flyers fans were excited about the prospect of losing such a solid offensive player, but they probably don’t have to worry about it. JVR’s concussion likely kills any deal that was being thrown around between the two teams. For now, the Flyers will have to have someone else step up to fill the role vacated by JVR. That won’t be easy.
JVR is the fifth member of the team to be ruled out with a concussion. That number doesn’t count the head injury sustained by Sean Couturier that was later ruled to not be a concussion. Obviously, the Flyers have experience both ends of the spectrum when it comes to concussion injuries. Chris Pronger has already been ruled out for the season. On the other hand, Claude Giroux missed just four games after he was initially ruled out indefinitely. If the Flyers get JVR back in that kind of time frame, they would be pretty lucky. Obviously, everyone wants JVR back. But there is no way that the Flyers can rush him back too soon.
As far as filling the void left by JVR, the Flyers should have enough offensive depth to make up for the loss. There are enough aggressive players and goal scorers on offense to survive the short term loss of JVR. But if he ends up missing the bulk of the season, the Flyers could be in trouble. We all remember the way he played in the playoffs in 2011. The Flyers need that kind of performance once again.
* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and Flyers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.
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