Habs forward suffers “cardiac episode”, will be out indefinitely

The Montreal Canadiens announced today that forward Jacob de la Rose has suffered a “cardiac episode” and will not be available for the team’s season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

MEDICAL UPDATE - Jacob de la Rose will not make the trip with the team today (cardiac episode). He was not cleared to travel by the team doctors, and will remain in Montreal for ongoing evaluation.

It’s unclear what exactly triggered the episode, but it’s also worth pointing out that the team did not classify it as a “heart attack.” Whether this is just a bit of language nuance or an official medical diagnosis, we’re not sure. Suffice it to say that the Habs are being extremely cautious with de la Rose right now.

The 23 year old forward missed practice yesterday with what was described as a “therapy day” and now Habs insider Arpon Basu of The Athletic is reporting that de la Rose’s condition does not appear to be serious:

To be clear, Canadiens say De la Rose’s condition is not serious, this is more precautionary in nature. The episode happened after the final preseason game in Ottawa and team medical staff didn’t want to take any chances. He will be placed on IR.

The Swedish winger finally developed into a full-time NHLer in 2017-18, scoring four goals and 12 points in 55 games with the Habs last season. In total, the 6 foot, 3 inch, 210 pound former 2nd round pick (34th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft has eight goals and 19 points in 119 career NHL games, all with the Canadiens. He's also tore up the American Hockey League in three separate occasions, most recently scoring 14 goals and 31 points in 62 games with the Habs' previous AHL affiliate St. John IceCaps in 2016-17.

Again, no indication of when de la Rose might be able to return to the team’s lineup. Here’s hoping that Basu is correct and that the Habs are simply being cautious. All the best to de la Rose in his recovery from a scary incident. Thoughts and prayers go out to de la Rose.