Confirmed with Link: Joni Pitkanen to miss entire 2013-14 season

[jeromeo87]

Reports are that healing is going slow. Carolina is taking a closer at Pitkanen tomorrow. Looks like there is a good possibility he won't be ready for opener. Our D is going to need more help if he isnt ready to go, IF Murphy isn't ready for more minutes.

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[What the Faulk]

Posted in the offseason thread, but it probably does deserve its own.


And the unfortunate reality.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie
CAR will check out Joni Pitkanen's injured ankle (broken on icing in April) tomorrow but it's possible he won't be ready to start season.


IMO, if Pitkanen isn't good to go, Murphy almost has to make the team. A defense of

Gleason, Sekara, Komisarek, Harrison, Faulk and Hainsey combined for 10 goals last year. If it weren't for Harrison's aberration the previous season, the totals wouldn't be any different over 18 months. I'm very worried about offensive production from the blue line.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Well, that's not good news. Not for the short term or the long term.

I'd expect this puts an onus on Sekera to manage offensive minutes that might be over his head. I'm less worried about which guy we call up, than about where the higher-end matchups will be going.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Hopefully Faulk is ready to make the jump to legit #1 dman. A Faulk-Gleason top pairing isn't what any of us were hoping for, but if Faulk takes that step it won't be the end of the world (as long as Pits is back soon).

Faulk - Gleason
Harrison - Sekera
Murphy - Komisarek

isn't exactly what we wanted, but it'll pass for 10 games or so, I'd think.

 

[tarheelhockey]

If he's really healing that slowly, I think there's a significant amount of uncertainty whether Pitkanen is still a top-pairing guy when he gets back. If his mobility is limited, or if he can't play as many minutes, we may be in a situation where Faulk and Gleason default to being the top pair for the rest of the season.

 

[cptjeff]

Well, s***.

 

[Novacane]

Of ****ing course.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

It's not so much the lack of goal production as it is the total lack of speed and passing ability on the back-end. If Murphy isn't ready for the top 4, then you have two bad passers in Gleason and one of Harrison/Komisarek (shudder) on the ice for 2/3rds of every game alongside two guys in Faulk/Sekera who are decent but not great at moving the puck and offer very little creativity. This is compounded by the general lack of creativity and playmaking ability from our top forwards, most of whom fall in to the category of quasi-sort-of-power-forwards, two of whom can't skate and with one of the "skill" guys constantly turning the puck over at the blueline. I see this team having a lot of trouble in transition.

If Murphy ready for the NHL, period, then the team has major problems.

And this isn't going to be solved by signing the great Ron Hainsey or Ryan Whitney.

 

[DaleCooper]

Chip Alexander ‏@ice_chip 30s

Jim Rutherford to discuss Pitkanen situation soon. Sounds serious.

Wellp

 

[Novacane]

Wellp

Is it too early to jump off a cliff?

 

[Ole Gil]

Gleason-Komisarek (new Bryan Allen?)
Sekera-Faulk
Murphy-Harrison
Bellemore

And this all assumes that we don't just pick up a Ron Hainsey.

 

[Swag Surf Aho]

Without Pitkanen, we've gone from team with too many PMD's (McBain, Sanguinetti, MAB, Corvo) to a team where Sekera's our best playmaker from the blue line.

 

[GhostofS16*]

Even with Pitkanen, this team was in trouble on the blueline. Circa 2 seasons ago, in my opinion, he was easily the best defenseman on the roster. You know, when he actually played. It is time to move on. Wake me when Rutherford fixes the blue line.

Outside of Faulk, I like Sekera. That is about it. Everything else is dicey. I look forward to the lottery pick. As long as the offense entertains me. That is dicey as well.

 

[urho]

I still hurt when I see the footage of his injury... I mean, that's gotta hurt really bad

 

[Identity404]

Seems more likely that we will sign Hainsey with this news. I know his goal scoring has dried up recently, but Hainsey did start his career as a PMD...

I'm sure Liles could be had from Toronto for cheap since they still have their RFA's to sign. He would be an ideal replacement for Pitkanen.

 

[jeromeo87]

Maybe Murphy will show something in camp; if not, Carolina has to make another move, whether that's bringing in someone like Hainsey or Gilbert, or pulling the plug and trading for someone.. Franson...?

Gleason Faulk
Sekera Komisarek
Harrison Murphy
Bellemore


Gleason Faulk
Sekera Franson/Hainsey/Gilbert
Harrison Komisarek/Murphy

 

[Caniac4ever]

Wow... just wow! Chip writes that Joni still hasn't been able to put any weight on that heel. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound like he'll be back any time soon.

 

[jeromeo87]

Wow... just wow! Chip writes that Joni still hasn't been able to put any weight on that heel. I'm no expert, but that doesn't sound like he'll be back any time soon.

Career ending? Possible, in my opinion. Hoping for the best, though.

 

[bleedgreen]

Not a good sign, but we have to get on with life without him likely anyway since he's a ufa at the end of the year. Our d isn't great with him, and we survived his absence many times in the past. Be curious to see if hainsey starts getting talked about again.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Back when the injury happened, I remember the discussion on if he'd ever recover from it.

This article was posted back then about how a similar injury impacted Pat Peake to the point where he still can't walk well.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog...anes-consulted-pat-peake-after-joni-pitkanen/

 

[sheriff bart]

In reality, I think JR has to plan for Joni never coming back and be surprised if he does. This defensive clusterpoke isn't going to get better with Joni out of the mix. I get frustrated when Joni goes to Joniland, but he eats up a lot of minutes that somebody else (who isn't capable) is going to have to cover. He is good with the puck, when he is healthy.

 

[Identity404]

Back when the injury happened, I remember the discussion on if he'd ever recover from it.

This article was posted back then about how a similar injury impacted Pat Peake to the point where he still can't walk well.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog...anes-consulted-pat-peake-after-joni-pitkanen/

Pitkanen's fracture did not require surgery which was good news at the time, but it is very disconcerting that he still is unable to put any weight on it. I wouldn't be shocked for them to take a look a his CT this week and decide he needs surgery, which would most likely mean he would be out for the year. Even if that is not the case, long term outcomes from this type of injury aren't great. It is very common for people who suffer these types of injuries to never fully recover normal foot and ankle movement and/or experience life-long pain due to nerve damage.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Career ending? Possible, in my opinion.

Not sure if it's career ending, but it certainly sounds career altering. If he hasn't been able to put weight on it, that suggests he will need a significant amount of time to get back into game form.

 

[What the Faulk]

Pitkanen's fracture did not require surgery which was good news at the time, but it is very disconcerting that he still is unable to put any weight on it. I wouldn't be shocked for them to take a look a his CT this week and decide he needs surgery, which would most likely mean he would be out for the year. Even if that is not the case, long term outcomes from this type of injury aren't great. It is very common for people who suffer these types of injuries to never fully recover normal foot and ankle movement and/or experience life-long pain due to nerve damage.

Pitkanen did have surgery:

https://twitter.com/ice_chip/status/324562152809697280

 

[Unsustainable]

If Joni is IR, could we get Hainsey and not be affected by cap?