Daily Faceoff Live: Can players better protect themselves from skate injuries?
Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna discussed the gruesome injury that Evander Kane suffered on Tuesday night and whether there’s anything that players can do to avoid such injuries.
Seravalli: “Let’s talk about what was a really tough night on the injury front in the NHL. The Edmonton Oilers picked up a much-needed and gutsy win over the Tampa Bay Lightning but that wasn’t really the focal point when you consider that one of their stars, Evander Kane, went down with a gruesome and what appears to be a significant injury.
In what was a pure accident, Pat Maroon’s skate cut Kane’s wrist. We won’t show the video because it’s pretty graphic. The update on Kane is that he’s going to be okay, he released a statement on his Twitter account earlier on Wednesday. He underwent surgery at Tampa General Hospital to repair the damage. It isn’t clear yet what exactly that damage is, how significant it was, or how long he’ll be out.
You think back to Ilya Mikheyev and the skate cut that he had on his wrist, he missed approximately three months. The Oilers are holding out hope that Kane won’t be out for that long. But when you look at it and you see Evander Kane who plays with his wrists exposed, this seems like one of those injuries, although a freak accident, that could be preventable.”
McKenna: “I don’t think it’s a freak occurrence, I think this is something the players can avoid. You can’t play in bubble wrap and be safe from everything. There will be exposed parts of the body on the ice, whether they’re covered up by cloth or not, but take a look at Kane’s wrists…
I noticed this last year being between the benches during a game in the playoffs, man, they’re exposed. At some point, you’re going to get dinged. I know several players who have had injuries and really scary ones. I can’t watch the replay because it makes me queasy.
This is a lot like when Erik Karlsson had his tendon sliced in 2013. There had been cut-resistant socks available for four or five years prior to that but players just wouldn’t wear them, they just resisted.
Why not wear something cut-resistant on your wrists to prevent this? These things exist, it’s a comfort level for players, and they’re willing to take that chance, but it just makes me nervous because it doesn’t have to happen.
I’m glad Kane’s going to be okay, and I’m glad there was such a good response from the medical staff, but cutting your wrist is bad news. I wish players would take more consideration for their own safety when it comes to skate blades. We’re out there skating on knives.”
Seravalli: “Do you have any indication as to why Kane might roll up his jersey sleeve like that? Is it purely a stylistic thing or is it more fit and feel?”
McKenna: “It’s just a comfort thing. I’ve known a lot of players who’ve done the same thing. They roll it up past their elbow pads because they like the free feeling of the cuff of the glove. The thing is, you can adjust anything. You can change your habits. Until the players do that or until something is mandated, we’re going to keep seeing these types of injuries.”
You can watch the full episode here…