Injury Report: Granlund fought through the pain

As has become ritual when a team is ousted from the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, news of which players have debilitating injuries has begun to trickle out. For Minnesota Wild fans, it was clear that Mikael Granlund was suffering some sort of injury and today, their suspicions were confirmed.

Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported this morning that the team’s general manager Chuck Fletcher acknowledged that Granlund indeed suffered a broken hand, but pushed through the pain in an effort to extend his team’s season. Ultimately the effort was in vain as the team fell to the St Louis Blues in the opening round, but it’s an effort that won’t go unnoticed by the breakout star’s teammates.

The 25 year-old Finn had an outstanding regular season in 2016-17, scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 81 games. In five playoffs games while battling the injury however, he mustered only 2 assists in 5 games. It’s expected that he’ll make a full recovery and be ready for the 2017-18 season, but he’ll need a new contract before hitting the ice for the Wild again.