San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl is making progress in his rehab from knee surgery back in mid-November but there remains no timetable for him to even return to practice, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Kurz speculates that sometime after the All-Star Break (January 27-29) could be the target for him to get back into the lineup.
Last month, GM Doug Wilson told reporters that Hertl was likely to miss weeks rather than months but considering it has been over a month since the surgery was performed back on November 18th, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Hertl was off to a strong start to the season before undergoing the operation with nine points (4-5-9) in 17 games while averaging a career high 16:28 per game. That came off the heels of a career 2015-16 campaign that saw him pick up 46 points (21-25-46) in 81 games while chipping in with 11 points (6-5-11) in 20 postseason contests.
While his slower recovery isn’t ideal, it should be worth it for San Jose if the procedure stabilizes the knee so that minor collisions no longer cause issues as they have in the past, including an injury in the Stanley Cup Final back in June.
More injury updates:
- New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad is around the midway point of his recovery from a broken fibula, writes Matt Calamia on their official team site. He is no longer in a walking boot or on crutches and was on the ice shooting pucks today (although he didn’t have skates on). Zibanejad, who last played November 20th, has 15 points in 19 games for New York so far this season.
- Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond is listed as week-to-week with an ankle injury, the team announced via Twitter. He has seen action in just three NHL games so far this season because of injuries and the fact he cleared waivers last month. Prospect Matt O’Connor will serve as the backup in his absence or until Craig Anderson returns from his leave of absence. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun suggests that Hammond could be out for months with the issue being a high ankle sprain which are notoriously slow to recover from.
- Still from Garrioch, Senators winger Clarke MacArthur has backed off his targeted return date of January 7th. Fortunately for the team, this isn’t due to a setback but simply due to the fact that he won’t be able to get the final test needed for clearance until after the holiday break instead of before as was originally anticipated. He has yet to play this season due to a concussion sustained in training camp.
- Montreal Canadiens right winger Sven Andrighetto has recovered from his upper body injury that caused him to miss the last two games and has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in St. John’s, per a team announcement on Twitter. After being a regular in the second half of last season, the Swiss forward hasn’t made much of an impact with Montreal this year with just two assists in eight games and cleared waivers back in October.
- The Canadiens also officially placed injured defenseman Andrei Markov on injured reserve, reports Renaud Lavoie of TVASports. Markov was injured in Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals, and the coaching staff expressed that the injury—described as a lower body injury—was nothing major. Markov is having a stellar year so far, posting 2G and 19A in 31 games for the surging Canadiens.
- Detroit Red Wings blueliner Mike Green will not be available for tomorrow’s game against Florida, head coach Jeff Blashill told reports, including Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News (Twitter link). This will be the second straight game that he will miss. Green is Detroit’s leading point getter on the blueline this year with seven goals and 11 assists in 32 games and ranks second to only Henrik Zetterberg in team scoring.