Ottawa Senators defenceman Nick Jensen has reportedly undergone surgery for a lingering lower-body injury. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reported this week that, according to league sources, Jensen had the procedure done in New York on Monday and admitted the injury was something he played through for the final few months of the season. He rarely participated in practice because of it.
Garrioch’s sources say the surgery went as planned, though no timeline has been given for Jensen’s recovery.
At the team’s exit interviews on May 3, Jensen acknowledged he had been dealing with an injury for some time but declined to go into detail.
“I don’t think I’m disclosing exactly what is going on until we figure out exactly what our progression going forward should be like,” Jensen said. “I just want to make sure with the doctors and everything that we work all that stuff out with them first before anything gets talked about.”
It appears those discussions ultimately led to the decision to proceed with surgery, accounting for the three-week delay after the Senators' elimination on May 1. Still, Jensen’s choice to keep the specifics private into the summer is intriguing.
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Not long ago, coaches and GMs would universally disclose full details of injuries after their seasons ended, making sure the fan base appreciated the toughness and warrior mentality of their players. They'd preface things by saying that 'no one is 100 percent this time of the year' and 'we're not making excuses,' before proudly reading off a laundry list of their walking wounded.
During the season, however, vagueness about injuries has been standard for decades. Former Leafs head coach Pat Quinn is often credited with starting the trend of labelling all injuries as either “upper-body” or “lower-body.” His reasoning? He was tired of constant injury-related questions. But the broader idea was strategic: less information made it harder for opponents to target weaknesses.
Now, Jensen is part of a growing group of players opting for discretion, even going into the off-season. That, too, is strategic, maybe more than most fans realize. There’s little upside for a player to reveal every detail about a significant injury, especially if it could impact their future.
Jensen, a physical defenceman in his mid-30s, is approaching the sunset of his career. Within the next 13 months, he’ll be looking to sign his next NHL contract. What good would it do him to openly share details of a recent surgery and potentially raise red flags for NHL general managers? It could mean less interest (and less money) in free agency or a trade.
The Senators, as a team, also benefit from keeping things under wraps. If they find themselves out of playoff contention at next year’s trade deadline and are unable (or unwilling) to re-sign Jensen, they may want to move him. The fewer details out there about a player’s injury past, the stronger the team’s position.
Think for a moment about the league-wide perception of former Senator Josh Norris. If Norris had his way now, he'd probably prefer that people didn't know that his three surgeries in six years were all on the same shoulder. He'd be better served if it were three upper-body surgeries. Thankfully for him, he's got his set-for-life contract.
The NHL will eventually demand teams release more specifics, largely to keep their gambling partners happy, but until then, silence isn't just golden, it's a good strategy.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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