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NHL Teams Less Likely To Be Haunted By Injuries Than In Past

How big an issue will NHL injuries be for teams this season? The overall number of injuries is down, but teams are juggling early concerns.

Every year, injuries play their role in the success of any NHL franchise. Oftentimes, winning the Stanley Cup is as much about skill, speed, and grit as it is about members of the roster staying on the ice and avoiding serious injuries. To start the 2022-23 season, there are already teams dealing with substantial injuries that will affect how their respective clubs come out of the gate. The trick is navigating those injuries, which can be difficult to do, especially in today’s tight salary cap world.

For example, the Boston Bruins are starting the season without Brad Marchand, Taylor Hall, and Charlie McAvoy, while the Washington Capitals may have lost Nicklas Backstrom for the season. News just came out that Jonathan Tavares is good to go for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but up until Tuesday, that was questionable. In the NHL, one loss can often be managed. Two gets difficult. More than that, and a team is in real trouble.

Brad Marchand Boston Bruins NHL
Brad Marchand Boston Bruins NHL

Betway Insider writes, “NHL lines site Betway has completed a study into NHL injuries, comparing the findings against data from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and the English Premier League to establish which sports incur the most injuries and assess the impact of those injuries.” What they’ve discovered is that injuries in the NHL have gone down, but the league isn’t far removed from the year 2020, one which saw the highest injury numbers for the NHL (1,179).

Of the over 5300 injuries since 2017, concussions are the biggest factor when it comes to man-games missed. It’s fairly evenly split between upper-body and lower-body injuries and the most common body parts impacted are the knees, shoulders, hands, and ankles. The good news is that the NHL has significantly lower injury numbers than the rest of the compared sports and considering the speed and nature of the full-contact sport, researchers expected those numbers to be higher.

With fewer injuries, the negative economic impact that hits teams decreases as well. The total sum of injury costs from all NHL teams in five years was $1,234,586,375.77. The Bruins suffered the greatest number of injuries, but the Montreal Canadiens paid the most in terms of costs ($33,602,889.05 for 2,755 injury days). Betway writes, “With fighting and injury numbers both decreasing, it’s clear that the NHL is becoming a safer league for all hockey players.” They add, “But unless injury list time also falls, high injury costs are going to be a big feature in the NHL for some time.”

There Is More Good NHL Injury News

As the league (and other sports leagues like the NHL) learn more about injuries and how to prevent them, teams are taking action. The Oilers, for example, had five preseason games in eight days but brought in multiple veterans on PTOs to let their stars sit. Other teams are making sure their top players get plenty of rest and facilities are made available to athletes to help promote rest and recuperation.

The league isn’t just looking into the issue but teams are working hard to avoid pushing too hard. The mentality of hockey players has always been to fight through it. It’s not unheard of to see a player lose teeth and come back out a shift later. Getting stitches and returning so you don’t miss more than a couple of minutes of action is normal. But, as more is learned about concussions and other injuries, teams and the NHL has stepped in and often protected the players from themselves.

Will the 2022-23 season be a year in which injuries continue to decrease and more of the stars fans want to see are actually on the ice for important games? The hope is that players, clubs, and the NHL continue to take steps in the right direction. That they are fourth to the NFL, MLB, and NBA is a good sign.

Next: Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Tavares, Gaudette, Murray & Samsonov

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