Oilers medical tests confirm horrible news for Mattias Ekholm
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
According to new reports from Oilers insiders, defenceman Mattias Ekholm received bad news from recent medical tests and is expected to be sidelined with a serious injury.
Ekholm made a surprise return to the lineup last night, but was only able to play 1:52 before being pulled from the game with injury again.
Mattias Ekholm out with serious injury, will not be available to begin playoffs
Oilers insider Ryan Rishaug has reported that Ekholm's season will be over based on their new medical tests, and he could be unavailable indefinitely with a serious injury.
It would be a crushing loss for the Oilers for Mattias Ekholm, their best two-way defender, to be unavailable for any amount of time - and this sounds like he could be out for the entire playoffs.
Ekholm brings a rock solid defensive game and can pitch in with solid puck skills too. However, his defensive strengths perfectly pair to hide Evan Bouchard's flaws and create an elite 5 man unit when they're on the ice.
The Oilers will be much worse off without Ekholm, and even Evan Bouchard may appear to be struggling a bit more defensively. In so many ways, this is a crushing injury.
Ekholm's problem stretches back months, still undisclosed injury
There were signs that Mathias Ekholm wasn't anywhere near 100% going back to January of this year. It's possible there's been different issues along the way, but since then, he's rarely played fully healthy.
Originally, Ekholm dealt with an illness that held him out of practice and games, and that illness seemed to linger for months. Now he's over that, but undisclosed injuries have held him out.
It's terrible concern for the Oilers immediately, and even for next season. Ekholm will be 34 years old, and if serious injuries continue to pop up for the workhorse blueliner, his dominant time with the Oilers could come to a quick end.
Hopefully Ekholm will be able to return at some point through the playoffs, and he can get back to being fully healthy next year.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 12 | 922 ANSWERS Oilers medical tests confirm horrible news for Mattias Ekholm Do you think Ekholm will be able to play in the playoffs at all? | ||
| Yes | 368 | 39.9 % |
| No | 554 | 60.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
