Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
You don't even need to follow the numbers, though they are indicative that we have an organizational problem with this thought process, IMO.
Just following the team loosely over the last 2 decades should be enough to understand something is wrong with how we treat injured players. It's a running joke on these boards every year that we're about to hear about 3-4 necessary surgeries when garbage bag day comes up. Every single year we hear a story about how a player played through a questionable injury to tough it out, and every year we discuss how the player was likely impacted and playing worse because of the injury.
It's ridiculous. How you address the player culture element, IMO, is very simple. It's top down, and repeated frequently at every level of management and coach. You do not play hurt. You rest and heal and play 100% as soon as possible. Playing hurt gets you less ice time. There's no "warrior" points.
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This is hockey and staying healthy is just the luck of the draw. Players play hurt all the time in this league (or any league for that matter) and it isn't just a Flames issue where injuries and surgeries are announced at the end of the year.