Bolts' Stamkos has blood clot, out 1-3 months
Steven Stamkos did not play in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night due to what the team called an upper body injury before the game.
After the game general manager Steve Yzerman addressed the situation and it turned out to be significantly worse than just an upper body injury. Yzerman announced that Stamkos has a blood clot issue in his right arm and will undergo surgery Monday to help correct it.
The team said in a statement that Stamkos is expected to fully recover and that he should be able to return to the ice in 1-3 months. That timeline could obviously keep him out for the entire postseason.
Yzerman said it is the same situation that goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had to deal with over the summer before the season started. The official diagnosis, according to the team, is “a type of Vascular Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (called Effort Thrombosis) near his right collarbone.”
“Obviously this situation is extremely disappointing because I wanted to help my team clinch a playoff spot and prepare for the start of the postseason,” Stamkos said in a statement released by the team. “During my recovery I will do all I can to help my teammates, and I hope to rejoin them soon in the Stanley Cup playoffs.”
Obviously this is a huge deal for both Stamkos and the Lightning.
Tampa Bay is supposed to be one of the top Stanley Cup contenders in the Eastern Conference after reaching the Stanley Cup Final a year ago and returning almost the exact same lineup. But now it has to enter the postseason without one of its best defensemen, Anton Stralman, and its best forward who also happens to be one of the best goal scorers in the entire league.
This is still a pretty deep roster, but that might be too much to overcome.
Stamkos, 26, has 36 goals and 28 assists in 77 games this season for the Lightning.
Given the timeframe for his return to the lineup, as well as his contract status after the season when he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 without a new deal, it is quite possible that Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft, has already played his final game as a member of the Lightning. It’s not a given, obviously, but that possibility is now out there.
Yzerman was asked if the team would consider calling up Jonathan Drouin from the American Hockey League and said that it is something they would definitely have to consider.
Steven Stamkos will miss 1-3 months for the Tampa Bay Lightning. (USATSI)
