As more and more updates come out about the health and status of veteran National Hockey League forward Jakub Voracek, the more and more it begins to sound like he may have already played his last game in the NHL.
Concern on that front really ramped up over the weekend when Columbus Blue Jackets insider Aaron Portzline reported that there was real concern within the organization that Voracek's career could be over.
From Portzline:
Now there is great concern that Voracek, one of the more beloved players in Columbus and across the NHL, may have played his last game.
It's one thing to have an NHL insider report something, but it's another matter entirely to hear it come from the player himself. On Monday, Voracek himself spoke about his ongoing concussion issues and admitted that there was only a "slim" chance that he would be able to return to the ice this season.
“Obviously I’m going to make my best efforts to try to (return), but it might be a long process," admitted Voracek as per Jackets insider Jeff Svoboda. "As of now, I don’t see myself playing in the near future, but I’ll do everything in my power to try to get back on the ice.”
Voracek also revealed that he has had a concerning number of concussions throughout his NHL career with him describing the official number as somewhere around 7 or 8, but adding that there may have been even more than that.
Voracek has had an excellent NHL career since being drafted in the first round (7th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets who will now seemingly bookend that NHL career. Most of his time in the league though would be spent as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers for whom he played 10 seasons of NHL hockey. If this is indeed the end, Voracek will finish his time in the NHL with 223 goals and 583 assists for a total of 806 career points in the league.
