Long Term Injury for Leading Scorer
It’s just the news Rangers fans wanted to see on this lovely Friday morning – Marian Gaborik needs surgery for a torn labrum in his shoulder. The surgery will take place next Wednesday, June 6th. According to the Rangers, there is no time frame for his recovery. Rumor is he will need five to six months meaning he won’t be ready for the start of the season (assuming the season starts on schedule).
No word on exactly when the injury occurred although a Slovakian report says he played for two months with the injury. It is unclear if that was two months in the regular season plus playoffs or if that was just the playoffs. Update: According to Jim Cerny, Gaborik says he was injured in either game 3 or 4 against Ottawa but had no plans on surgery until after the playoffs. He also said he tried to play through it and while his shot wasn’t there, he doesn’t want to make excuses. Torts really has them trained well
My take – we all knew something was up. After he announced at break-up day that he didn’t want to talk about it but may need a procedure, no one should be surprised. Plus he wasn’t playing like he did at the beginning of the season, so there was tons of speculation he was injured throughout the playoffs. Did I expect this? No. But that may have been wishful thinking. All we can do is hope for a speedy and full recovery. Get well soon Gaby!
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As for other news today which comes as no surprise, it looks like Mats Zuccarello officially will not be back with the Rangers next season. He tweeted this morning:
Word is he will be officially signing the offer he received from the KHL although until it’s confirmed I will hold out hope that he gets another chance on this side of the Atlantic. (Paging the Coyotes? A Ranger is available….)
It’s a shame that it didn’t work out but it was obvious it wasn’t going to. Torts liked his skill but hated his size. I’m not going to say he never got a real chance but after last season, no one really expected him to finish his contract with the Rangers. Good luck wherever you end up Zucc! I’ll never forget your first NHL goal, specifically you’re celebration afterwards






