Bright: Giroux Not Out Of The Woods Just Yet
On Sunday, the Flyers aroused the optimism of their fan base by releasing a surprise photograph of concussed Claude Giroux practicing in a non-contact jersey. Not only did the team’s star forward and leading scorer make the trip to Colorado, but was in competitive spirits and working at a high level.
With the picture and accounts of the practice came an overwhelming optimistic exhale from the Flyers’ community, who have suffered through a tidal wave of bad news in the past couple weeks. From Chris Pronger to Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and of course, Giroux, injuries have hit the team hard and in succession.
The worst, as Giroux zipped around the Pepsi Center, seems to have passed.
But regardless of the appearance, concussions, more accurately, post-concussion syndrome, is a sneaky and unpredictable terror. Just when you think it’s better, it attacks once again, sending the player back to square one. It can be as frustrating as it is debilitating.
So given its shifty nature, it should be noted that the Flyers and Giroux are not out of the woods yet.
Giroux’s situation is positive and the strides that he’s made in the last couple days — practicing twice — is a great sign. But training uncleared for contact and getting cleared for contact and surviving it, are two different things.
“Since the initial incident against Tampa, he has felt good at times, but there’s other times, in his words, ‘I just don’t feel right,’” said general manager Paul Holmgren on Friday. “So until he feels right for a whole day and we get to the next day and he feels good another day, it is what it is. He’s not gonna be back in there.”
That task is more difficult to complete once contact kicks in. There are booby traps when pushing boundaries of a concussion and Giroux has to hope not to fall in one.
On Dec. 13, New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal began participating in drills after suffering a severe concussion that has kept him out since the start of the season. Six days after joining his team on the ice, he still wears the no-contact jersey and is still days away from being cleared for physical play.
Despite his giant step toward re-entering the lineup, his condition remains tentative.
In early September, at the start of training camp this season, concussed Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was cleared for non-contact practice. On Oct. 13, he was cleared for contact but it took until Nov. 21 to play. It wasn’t timely.
Although both Staal and Crosby had more severe head trauma than Giroux, the Flyers won’t have to look farther than Schenn to find a short-term recovery turned bad.
Suffering a concussion on Saturday, Dec. 3 against the Phoenix Coyotes, Schenn attempted to practice on the following Tuesday. He left early. The 20-year-old has since attempted to work out on his own, hit the ice on his own, and as of late last week, been shut down completely with lingering effects. Twice, the Flyers thought he was days away from returning and twice they were wrong.
Seeing Giroux on the ice is extremely positive and should lift the spirits of the war-torn Flyers. Health-willing, the Winter Classic is his target for a return and he might even hit that. But unfortunately for the players suffering these powerful brain disorders, they, and their unpredictable symptoms, call the shots, meaning Giroux is not out of the murky swamp just yet.
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