Alexander Steen’s shoulder injury adds a new wrinkle when it comes to planning for the 2016-17 season. Kept a secret even after the playoffs ended, Steen’s injury required surgery and will keep him out approximately four to six months. Using some simple math, an optimistic return might be at the beginning of October while a lengthier recovery time could put him closer to December.
It’s still kind of strange how the news of Steen’s injury came out. Usually a list of injured players is given after a team is eliminated from the playoffs, but Steen’s injury took several more days before it was released. According to the team, Steen was injured back on February 20th which caused him to miss 16 games. He returned and skated in six games before the playoffs.
Steen’s injury was never really obvious on the ice, but it was clear that he – as well as other Blues skaters – looked significantly less effective as the playoffs wore on compared to earlier in the playoffs. Steen’s forecheck wasn’t nearly as effective, but that was initially chalked up to the Sharks’ strong play as opposed to an injury. Both reasons were probably big factors.
There are a ton of questions hanging over the head of the Blues ahead of 2016-17 and now you can add Steen’s injury to that list. The wise move would be to plan as if Steen won’t be ready for the season opener and will miss as much as a couple months. That’s a pretty tough task as replacing Steen in the lineup is nearly impossible.
However, the Blues proved in 2015-16 that they can overcome serious injuries across the roster. Hopefully they’re able to do it again.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
