NHL Injury: Jakub Voracek, Ryan McDonagh, Bowen Byram, and more
The Daily Goal Horn
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Jakub Voracek spoke with the media today and announced that the chances of him playing again this season for the Columbus Blue Jackets are “slim.”
“After talking to many people and many doctors we came to the conclusion that as of right now, I’m not capable of coming back, I won’t be coming back anytime soon,” Voracek said via NHL.com. “Obviously, I’m going to make my best efforts to do that (return) but it might be a long process and as of now I don’t see myself playing in the near future.”
This season, the 33 year-old has played in only 11 games registering just six points (1G – 5A). According to forward, this is the “seven or eight” concussion he’s sustained.
On November 4 in Finland, playing in the NHL Global Series, Voracek took a high stick from Colorado Avalanche forward Dryden Hunt in the face causing this latest concussion.
“If I’m going to be medically cleared, I’m going to try. We’ll see about that,” he added. “And retirement? I can’t retire, I’m still under contract. I would like to finish it off. If I’m going to be able to, I’ll be happy about that. If I won’t be, that’s going to be up to doctors.”
NHL Injury: Ryan McDonagh out
Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh is expected to miss one to two weeks with an upper-body injury.
He was placed on the injured reserve Monday and the team called up defenseman Jordan Gross in a related move.
McDonagh, 33, has six assists in 23 games in his first season with Nashville.
The two-time Stanley Cup winner has 343 points (71 goals, 272 assists) in 806 career games with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Predators.
Gross, 27, has two goals in three games this season with Nashville. He also has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 13 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.
Avs Bowen Byram and Josh Manson injured
The Colorado Avalanche placed defenseman Bowen Byram on injured reserve Monday with a lower-body injury.
Byram, 21, has two goals and three assists in 10 games this season. His last game with the Avs was on Nov. 4.
Byram was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The British Columbia native has 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 59 career games.
Colorado also announced defenseman Josh Manson is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Coach Jared Bednar announced the status Saturday and said Manson had returned to Denver.
He was injured in the second period of Thursday’s 6-4 win at Buffalo and will not play either Saturday at Boston or Monday at Philadelphia.
Manson, 31, has registered two goals and four assists in 21 games this season. He leads the team with 46 hits and 40 penalty minutes and ranks fourth with 23 blocks.
He has 126 points (30 goals, 96 assists) in 496 career games with the Ducks and Avalanche, who acquired him from Anaheim in a trade last March.
Artem Zub fractures jaw
Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub will be sidelined 3-4 weeks with a small fracture in his jaw, TSN reported Monday.
Zub was struck in the face by a puck during Friday night’s 3-2 victory against the host New York Rangers. He did not play in Saturday’s 5-2 win against the visiting San Jose Sharks.
Zub, 27, has two goals and two assists in 14 games this season.
He has 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists) in 142 games since making his NHL debut with Ottawa in January 2021.
–Field Level Media
–The Daily Goal Horn contributed to this article