The Florida Panthers may have another major injury problem on their hands.
Brad Marchand was helped off the ice Tuesday night after suffering an apparent left knee injury during Florida’s 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Marchand was driving toward the net when a high stick from Brandt Clarke caused him to contort awkwardly into the post. He immediately grabbed his left knee and required assistance getting to the dressing room.
The timing could hardly be worse.
Marchand had only just returned to the lineup Sunday after missing the Panthers’ first two games while recovering from offseason surgery. He scored in his season debut against Anaheim and then appeared to suffer another significant setback two days later.
There is no official diagnosis yet. Coach Paul Maurice offere his usual cryptic remarks following the game:
“We’ll get him looked at probably Thursday.”
However, renowned physician Dr. Harjas Grewal believes the mechanism of the injury could raise concern about an MCL injury.
“Concern would be an MCL injury for Marchand. Mechanism can also cause high ankle sprain (I know he grabbed his knee after). Time off depends on severity but often grade 2 and 4-6 weeks out. Low chance ACL.”
That would obviously be a major blow for a Panthers team that has already lost Aleksander Barkov for an extended period.
Marchand Injury History Makes This Even More Concerning
The Panthers already knew Marchand was coming into this season with questions surrounding his health.
The veteran forward missed the final 19 games of last season because of a lingering lower-body injury. That issue eventually required surgery during the offseason, and Florida initially expected him to miss the entire month of October while recovering.
Instead, Marchand returned considerably earlier than expected.
Now he is hurt again.
That makes this situation particularly frustrating for the Panthers. Marchand was one of their most important offensive players when healthy last season, producing 27 goals and 54 points in just 52 games.
If he is forced to miss another significant stretch, Florida will suddenly have an enormous hole to fill.
Panthers Will Need to Fill Another Major Lineup Spot
The evident solution to a long-term Brad Marchand injury would be a trade.
But that is where things become complicated.
The Panthers do not have the kind of cap flexibility that would allow them to simply replace Marchand with another high-end forward. Barkov is already on long-term injured reserve, and Florida’s ability to create additional room depends heavily on the severity and duration of Marchand’s injury.
If either Barkov or Marchand is eventually out for the season, the Panthers could gain considerably more flexibility through LTIR. If both are expected back, however, making a major addition could create a serious cap problem when the stars return.
That leaves Florida with some difficult choices.
The Panthers could rely on their internal depth and hope players such as Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe can carry more of the offensive burden.
They could also look toward the waiver wire for a cheaper short-term option.
Neither solution replaces Marchand.
And that is why this injury could become a much bigger problem than one bad night in Los Angeles.
Florida has already lost its captain.
If Marchand is now facing a multi-week absence, the Panthers may have to find a way to survive without two of their most important forwards at the same time.
Marchand Could Be Facing Long-Term Injury, Expert Says