Late last month, we discussed the ailing Henrik Sedin, who had, at that time, busted his ass busting his ass for this team. The Canucks' captain couldn't even sit down, he was in so much pain, so he stood at the bench for the entire game. It was nuts.
A month later, Henrik is finally taking a few days off. On Monday, Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said the eldest Sedin would be going home from the road trip, and likely wouldn't rejoin the team until February. “It’s probably a 10-day injury,” Desjardins told reporters. “I think he’ll be back after the all-star break.”
Good.
On the surface, Henrik has gone home with a new injury, after taking a nasty hit from Mikhail Grabovski in Sunday's visit to the New York Islanders. Grabovski hit Henrik right through the numbers, driving him into the boards in front of the Canucks' bench. Grabovski took a five-minute penalty and a game misconduct for the hit, which, to my mind, is an acceptable punishment. I know some people wanted a suspension, but that's not gonna happen unless Henrik goes in headfirst. But he hit the boards shoulder-first. It still took him out of the game, of course, but that's because Henrik entered the game pre-busted. It wasn't going to take much.
In a sense, then, we should probably be thanking Grabovski for finally, mercifully, convincing Henrik Sedin that he needed to take some time to heal. Sure, he was a bit pushy about it -- he literally pushed -- but at the end of the day, Henrik needed this. When every faceoff brings you to your knees in pain, it's time to take the rest of the month off, at least.
Now, I understand why Henrik might want to soldier through all this pain. The Canucks need him badly. In his absence, a 19-year-old rookie will centre the top line. And, as the Canucks have made it clear that they have no intention of tanking, Henrik's presence in spite of his injury drives home the point.
But the Canucks need to think beyond this season. Henrik's persistence may be noble, but the Canucks have him under contract for two more years after this, and it's clear that they hope to be more competitive next season and beyond, as their prospects mature. But if Henrik keeps playing through this injury, how effective will he be at 36 or 37, say, after playing an entire season of the NHL with a busted torso?
In short, while I'm not glad Henrik is hurt, I am glad that he's finally going to take a few nights off. An injured Henrik Sedin may be the team's best option this season, but if the Canucks want Henrik to be their best option next season, and the one after that, he needs to take care of himself this season.
