Four Months Measured in Weekes
Attention Devils Fans: Don’t panic.
As reported by Tom Guiliiti and others, Marty Brodeur is out 3-4 months having his distal biceps tendon (that goes through/around the elbow) surgically repaired. I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV or in my blog, but I have to believe that this isn’t a sudden or a new injury, but a continued re-aggravation (or injury past the point of short-term rehabilitation) for Brodeur. It’s pretty close to what Kevin Weekes did and had repaired over the summer, and if you watched last night’s Sabres-Devils game, Weekes didn’t look worse for the wear and repaired tear.
Don’t panic. Here are five reasons not to completely brown your shorts on this otherwise nice fall day:
1. Kevin Weekes is an NHL goalie. Not every team has a Brodeur, yet each year, fifteen other clubs manage to make the playoffs without him. Some do it by platooning two guys in the crease. Kevin Weekes is one of those caliber guys. He’s an NHL goalie with experience (in addition to being a nice guy) who will play under pressure.
2. Everybody will step up. I think this is one of the most mis-understood issues in sports. Talk to people who follow football, and you’ll hear that injuries to key players do not affect games as much as people think. On cue, everyone should say “Ooh, but what about Tom Brady” to which my answer is “What about the other 21 starters on the team?” Maybe the Patriots just aren’t that good aside from Brady. The Giants certainly proved it last year. But I digress. Immediately, your mindset as a Devils player changes. Score more goals. Play better defense. Don’t rely on Marty making the outrageous plays; make some of your own. We’ll see what Captain Langenbrunner does now.
3. This may incent management to get some blueline help. How many times have you heard “Brodeur is a third defenseman” during a broadcast? Clearly, the Devils need defensive help now. Not another goalie; they have some solid goaltending. Help in front of the net, so that visitors Buffalo-ing into the Devils zone don’t rip off 20 shots in the first period again. Now would be a good time for a big trade or signing, and would deflect both the media and fan attention away from the Brodeur theater.
4. Long-term injuries should not preclude short-term thinking. Remember when Elias contracted Hep A and missed most of the season? There wasn’t a countdown to his return or a feeling that all was lost, even though he was the team’s leading scorer five years in a row. When he came back he was a man on fire. This is long but not season-ending long. Marty could be back in the net in March, with a dozen games to go. He could still break various records this year [ed note: see next thought, though] and be back for the playoffs. If you are already thinking about the playoffs, then you’ve skipped all of the work that has to precede that run. Jim Craig once said that he broke periods down into 5-minute chunks, and treated each one as a game within a game. Think of the 08-09 season as eight separate 10-game seasons. The first one went 6-2-2 (compare to 3-6-1 last year, just to level set here). It’s possible Marty is back for the last one or maybe two of them. Five to six 10-game mini seasons in the interim. Break it down, and treat it as a series of short-term objectives, and the longer-term issues fade into the background. As I like to holler from the stands, “lots of hockey left”.
5. Marty is going to get emotional, physical and media rest. “Marty is tired” comes up way too much, especially as the season wears on and the playoffs arrive. I’d certainly never vote for an injury to force rest, but this will help Marty recharge in every way possible, including reducing strain from the media glare. He’s a professional athlete who trains well, and will be ready to go when he’s cleared to play — and I’m betting that he makes it a spring time to remember.
Feel better, Marty — on your time and schedule, not anyone else’s. The fans will still be here, cheering for your recovery, your return, and your redefinition of the record books.