Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand will miss time this week to see doctors and determine whether he needs surgery for a lower-body injury.
Marchand has missed 10 games with the injury since early January.
‘There’s going to be a decision on what’s the best way to get to 100 percent full health,’ coach Paul Maurice told reporters on Monday, March 9.
He said that even if surgery isn’t needed, Marchand would be out for weeks, not days.
‘We had had a handle on it and there were times where he didn’t play but kind of maintained it and then came back in,’ Maurice said. ‘But it just got to the point on this road trip that it was never recovering and continuing to get worse.’
The Panthers have been devastated by injuries this season, starting with hernia surgery for Matthew Tkachuk that kept him out until January and ACL surgery for Aleksander Barkov when he was hurt in his first practice of training camp.
Eetu Luostarinen missed time after being burned while barbecuing. Seth Jones is potentially a week away from returning from an injury suffered in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic.
The Panthers haven’t been able to gain traction this season and were 11 points out of a playoff spot on March 9. They could see the end of a run that took them to the Stanley Cup Final for three years in a row and win championships the past two.
Brad Marchand injury update
Brad Marchand will see doctors this week to determine if he’ll need surgery. Maurice said the injury has been bothering the winger for months. Marchand also played at the Olympics, winning a silver medal with Canada.
Brad Marchand stats
Brad Marchand has 27 goals and 27 assists in 52 games for the Panthers this season. He had one assist in four games at the Olympics.