Scott Mayfield played through a lingering lower-body injury for most of the season until it got to the point where he couldn't.
Scott Mayfield played through a lingering lower-body injury for most of the season until it got to the point where he couldn't.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield did all he could this season to fight through a lower-body injury.
After missing seven games following a blocked shot off the ankle in game one of the regular season, Mayfield returned to the lineup.
Despite returning, it was clear that the 31-year-old wasn't 100 percent healthy, but that's Mayfield for you, always battling.
As the season progressed and other Islanders' blue liners suffered injuries, Mayfield continued to battle through his ailments for the better of the team.
On Dec. 7, The Hockey News caught up with Mayfield to see how he was feeling.
"Any time you have a lower-body injury, it's a pain to work through, and I'm still dealing with it a little bit," Mayfield told THN. "It's part of the game. Injuries happen. It's just dealing with it and doing everything you can to make yourself feel comfortable every night.
"Some nights are better than others, that's for sure."
Unfortunately for Mayfield, the lower-body injury continued to impact his play to the point that the Islanders decided it was best to shut him down.
On March 4, after last playing on Feb. 22 against the St. Louis Blues, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello announced that Mayfield would be shut down for four to six weeks before a decision was made regarding surgery.
On Tuesday morning, the Islanders announced that Mayfield did have successful offseason surgery and is expected to make a full recovery without rehab impacting his ability to prepare for the 2024-25 season.
"He was challenged with injuries and things that forced him to play through pain," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "I think this route obviously gets him healthy as soon as possible and takes care of his body. But Scott has always been extremely strong and had a lot of courage to play through pain. So he did as much as he could to make sure that happened as long as he could this season.
"But unfortunately, I think the best decision was for him to shut it down and get this thing right for next fall."
Mathew Barzal said it sucked watching Mayfield go through what he did this season.
"He's always been that warrior for us," Barzal said. "He's a heart and soul guy. I mean, it sucked watching him go through that kind of pain every night, so I'm happy that for his health, he got the surgery.
"It's been a minute since he's been in the lineup. But definitely, when he was in, he was battling as hard as he could have and still playing physical and heavy, so it's definitely a testament to just who he is as a person and his character."
Mayfield only played 11 games under head coach Patrick Roy, who took over on Jan. 20, and the new bench boss is happy for his veteran defenseman, and here's why.
"He's been carrying this for a while. So, I'm happy for him. Now he can put this behind us and focus on next year and be ready to play," Roy said. You hate to see things that happened at the beginning of the year, and he was comfortable to play -- he was okay to play -- but you probably know at some point that it won't hold up. So, let's put this put it to bed and let's focus on what's coming up.
"He's gonna take care of himself, and he'll be ready for training camp."
After signing a seven-year extension worth $24.5 million this past summer, the fan base was quick to turn against Mayfield as his subpar on-ice play contributed to the Islanders' struggles.
The injury doesn't excuse all aspects of Mayfield's game, but fans do need to realize just how limited he was on the ice and how, even if the success wasn't there, he did all he could game in and game out to try and help the team win.