Hjalmarsson hurt
Posted by TimS on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 22:21
NEW YORK - Rookie defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson suffered what Savvy called an "upper body" injury in the first period of Friday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers and will be evaluated on Saturday.
If Hjalmarsson can't play Saturday in Washington, Matt Walker would make his debut.
It will be interesting to see what happens if Hjalmarsson's injury is long term, perhaps a shoulder. Would Dale try to find a way to bring Cam Barker back from Rockford even though the Hawks are only about $1.5 million under the NHL salary cap with Barker having a $2.8 million cap hit?
And I thought he sat because he made a mistake early on, and Savard was so worried about winning (read between the lines: worried also about his job security). Walker has to be in lineup, anyway. Seabrook isn't playing physical enough. Ladd and Big Buff aren't stepping up in the physical department, either. These three players have to show up when the other team plays physical, or we'll be run over all night.
Hjalmarsson has a world of ability. He has smarts and can log major minutes. Anyone who saw him as the man on Rockford defense last year knows this is true. Hjalmarsson can be tricky/smart, like Kronwall (Detroit) in offensive situations. Ironic, he can lay big hits, also like Kronwall. I beleive he is willing and not tentative too often like Barker is. That is why I was glad he made the team over Barker/the salary cap was given for the most part as the reason Barker went down. Don't believe it to be the whole truth. If Hjalmarsson is out for more than a few games, however, he should probably go down to Rockford and play a few games. Then recall whomever is playing better down there, Barker or Hjalmarsson. Actually it may take 10 games for Hjalmarsson to re-acquaint with the level of play in the AHL.