George Sipple reports that Tomas Kopecky tore his ACL and sprained his MCL last night.
According to Ken Holland, he’ll need surgery when the swelling subsides. He will miss 4-6 months, which puts him out of the playoffs for sure. At latest, he’ll be making his return to the ice around the time the Wings start the 08-09 season.
What a shame. Kopecky has had a solid season, occasional weak games aside. He plays angry, which is always a good thing to see in a Red Wings forward, and has the size to back it up. As Ken Holland told Sipple,
“We’ll miss him. Our depth is getting tested up front.”
The Wings do have that depth, though. Given the size and speed of Justin Abdelkader, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he could find a place on the roster while players like Mikael Samuelsson (groin) and Kris Draper (groin) recover. His lack of experience counts against him, of course, but he stands a fair chance of winning over Babcock, I would think.
Darren McCarty is also an option, though he apparently has a ways to go with attaining NHL-level conditioning (one possible explanation for his being a healthy scratch twice since returning).
Best wishes on a speedy recovery, Tomas. See you next season.
Aww man, I knew this was going to be bad… This young guy has stepped up so well the past couple months. I love his intensity and we are definitely going to miss his hitting game. Too bad for Kopecky…he had a great season and would have developed that much more on this impending Cup run. I think Abdelkader has a shot here too. He played really well last night. I think he needs a little time to modify his positional play to fit the Wings’ style, but overall he’s a solid young player and provides good jump. Mac looks off conditioning wise for sure, but he’s a big-time playoff guy. If he can pull it off, I think it’ll be great for the Wings. What an injury bug we’ve got here this season…
Indeed. At this point, they have as many guys out as they did during the skid. We’re fortunate it’s spread across a few positions.
I agree on Abdelkader. It’s sort of like Stuart when he first arrived. I expect he’ll adjust quickly to the style.
I think the top line needs to sit the next game out. Could you imagine Hank or Dats losing a knee at this point?!?! AAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Ron,
That is a possibility too terrible to speak of.
That said, I think the Wings are at a point at which they need to have everybody in and firing on all cylinders. With the exception of Datsyuk, the top forwards have already missed time with injuries this season and shouldn’t need the rest.