Almost Getting Out of Hand: Why Are NHL Teams Facing So Many Injuries?

Something’s quite off on the injury front this NHL season, with almost every team spending oodles of money and effort trying to keep their star players off the injury list. Canadiens, Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Maple Leafs, you name it – all our favourite Canadian franchises have been bitten, and they can’t seem to shake off the injury bug.

Toronto fans seem to be bearing the brunt of it. The Maple Leafs are missing some of their biggest talents, including goaltender Anthony Stolarz, forward Matthew Knies, and, even worse, their captain Auston Matthews.

Things couldn’t be bleaker for the defence corps at the Carolina Hurricanes. The Jets are rumoured to be planning to bring free agent Chris Driedger to Winnipeg, with their No. 1 goalie Connor Hellebuyck out for upwards of six weeks after knee surgery.

The Senators have also had to manage well for over a month without captain Brady Tkachuk, who has been out for a little shy of 20 games due to a thumb injury. His brother Matthew has not hit the ice for the Florida Panthers since having surgery in August. The talented forward was in and out of the injury ward for most of the second half of last season with an adductor muscle tear and sports hernia.

The best of us fans know that injuries happen in barn burners, but it has reached the point where we have to come out and say it. What’s with all the injuries raging across the NHL?

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs are dealing with what might be their worst injury stretch in recent memory. Beyond Matthews, Knies, and Stolarz, the team is missing about $35 million in salary and dressing five or six players from call-ups or recent waiver claims on any given night. Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo have also been sidelined, leaving Toronto light on both goaltending depth and defensive stability. The Leafs are leaning heavily on backups and third-pairing defencemen just to fill out the roster.

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton has been juggling a messy injury situation across multiple positions. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected back in late November, but Curtis Lazar and Noah Philp remain out, with Philp facing a long-term absence. On defence, Jake Walman is unavailable while Kasperi Kapanen is on LTIR.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are struggling to keep their blue line intact. Jordan Staal is out short-term, while Jesperi Kotkaniemi and goalie Pyotr Kochetkov are also sidelined. Charles-Alexis Legault won’t be back until March. Carolina is down a goalie, losing centre depth, and scrambling to fill defensive gaps. They’re shuffling lines constantly and relying heavily on call-ups to keep the ship afloat.

Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are taking a beating on multiple fronts. They’re without centres Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, right wing Patrik Laine, and defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who’s out for 8–10 weeks. That’s a heavy blow to both forward depth and the blue line. Montreal is forced to juggle minutes heavily and rely on AHL call-ups just to maintain roster size and keep special teams functional.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver is dealing with a goaltending nightmare. Kevin Lankinen is out for personal reasons, while Thatcher Demko remains on IR, though he’s travelling with the team. Forwards Teddy Blueger and Filip Chytil are on IR with upper- and lower-body injuries, and Derek Forbort is on LTIR. Losing two goalies and multiple skaters at once is forcing Vancouver to rely heavily on backups and younger roster players.

Why is this season so brutal?

The compressed schedule is the elephant in the room. The NHL crammed more games into fewer days, so the League could pause for most of February while the Winter Olympics take place. Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said the team expected injuries with a compressed schedule, but not to this extent. A lot of teams are dealing with the same problem, though maybe not as many as the Canucks.

Minnesota Wild and Team USA GM Bill Guerin echoed the concern. Everyone understands it’s a packed schedule because of the Olympic year, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch star players go down game after game.

There have been freak accidents, too. Jack Hughes injured himself at a team dinner. Eetu Luostarinen suffered burns in a barbecue accident. Charlie McAvoy took a puck to the face. These things happen in hockey, but when you add them to an already punishing schedule, the numbers start to pile up fast.

It might get worse

The really worrying part is that injuries could get worse later this season with Olympic participation. Then there is next season, when the league expands the regular season schedule to 84 games. The NHL has tweaked next season’s schedule to handle the increase in games, but could it soon be normal that few players, if any, play every game?

Eighty-four games are a lot. Some players would push through, valuing their good health as one of their most reliable assets. But many players may end up missing at least a handful of games every year from now on. Having a deep roster isn’t just nice anymore.

Wrapping up: How will the NHL teams deal with the injury crisis?

Like everything in life, too much of something can do more harm than good. People who give every inch of themselves to their careers, for example, can do a number on their family and social lives. Even overindulging in social media can lead to addiction while betting too much can result in problem gambling, the solutions to both of which are covered on this website.

The same is true for playing too much ice hockey. Players will bear the brunt of a super-condensed NHL schedule and suffer more injuries than usual. Thankfully, NHL teams are looking to the AHL for fill-ins. The NHL has also reworked the schedule for the upcoming 84-game season to spread out the added games.