A non-Caps update – though one that has league-wide affects – from Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren. His team is without center Claude Giroux, who at 23 is leading the NHL with 39 points. Giroux was kneed in the back of the head on Saturday night by teammate Wayne Simmonds during a game against Toronto and will not play Tuesday evening against Washington.
Holmgren just addressed a healthy contingent of Philadelphia and Washington media in the press box here at Verizon Center. And, yes, the HBO 24/7 cameras were there, too, gathering footage for episodes later this month. The Flyers are playing the New York Rangers in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic in Philadelphia. Made for quite a scene. But a sobering one, too, as another one of the game’s bright stars deals with a head injury.
“Over the last few days [Giroux’s] symptoms have gradually been worse, I guess,” Holmgren said. “He skated a little bit today, didn’t feel that good. He just didn’t feel like himself. I don’t know if there’s any good news in this other than after 15 minutes or so once he stopped skating, he did start to feel a little better. We’re just going to take it easy with Claude. We’ll probably just give him some time off tomorrow and revisit it again on Thursday. Obviously we’re concerned. Claude’s one of our better players and obviously off to a great start in this season. We’re going to err on the side of caution.’
The NHL claims concussions are down this season. But given the star level of players dealing with head injuries – Giroux, Sidney Crosby again, Chris Pronger, Marc Staal, among others – the issue is receiving plenty of ink and pixels and broadcast time. The Caps dealt with this last season when defenseman Mike Green missed most of the final two months of the season with a pair of head injuries and severe concussion symptoms. There are plenty of theories about why concussions seem to be more severe now than in the past. But the research about why one player gets debilitating symptoms and another skates away from a big hit unharmed is still in its infancy.
“You never know. That’s the funny thing about concussion injuries,” Holmgren said. “You see a guy get hit really hard and nothing happens, and you see an innocent looking play. And he didn’t really have concussion symptoms right away – it was more whiplash symptoms. He had a lot more discomfort in his neck than in his head. As the last few days have transpired, it’s become more and more where he doesn’t feel like himself – he’s sluggish. That’s the reason we’re doing what we’re doing today.”
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