After the Columbus Blue Jackets won the first two games of a seven game series, the Washington Capitals won four straight games to eliminate the Jackets from the Stanley Cup playoffs. As seems to have become the norm, players wait until they are officially eliminated to reveal that they’ve been playing through pain. Usually this is just a playoffs tendency, but for Jackets’ defenceman Zach Werenski it was apparently almost a full season.
The following is an excerpt from NHL.com:
"I can think every night I go out there I'm 100 percent, but the truth is I wasn't," said the 20-year-old defenseman, who had 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) and a plus-8 rating in 77 games. "It's kind of hard to accept that as a hockey player and as a competitor, but we're going to work to fix it."
Werenski didn’t reveal what exactly the injury was, or whether or not it would require surgery, although it must have been pretty hampering to deal with it for that long. The blueliner, who often took maintenance days off from practice during the season, didn’t let it affect him too much in regards to playing time. Werenski averaged 24:11 minutes per game, which is good for 27th on the current list, and managed to chip in three points for his team.
Honestly, after last year, was there ever any doubt?
(H/T NHL.com)
