Should the Flyers Reassess their choice in Medical Staff?

Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/Getty Images

As the Philadelphia Flyers (or what’s left of them) watch another promising season continue to slip away from them, the constant blame and/or random finger pointing around the organization of who’s at fault for the team’s substandard play again this season may be currently misdirected. This writer is by no means saying that the team’s poor drafting, ineffective player development, botched free agent signings and/or trades over the years have not played a major part in the Flyers’ demise. I am merely suggesting that there is another- often overlooked- ongoing issue that has been plaguing this franchise for some time now, which may just need to be reassessed come this off season. That issue being the effectiveness (or lack thereof) in the Flyers’ choice of medical staff over the past few seasons. 

Yet again, the Flyers find themselves having to deal with an extremely lengthy list of players currently out due to injuries right now. With the number of players missing from the roster remaining in the double digits for most of this season, it’s easy to just write off this year to bad luck and start looking towards the deadline and/or the off season to see which players management might bring in to help the club moving forward. But, right now, this writer would urge you to slow down and take a closer look at these players’ injuries. 

You don’t have to be a medical expert to know that hockey is a physical sport where injuries are bound to occur. I have played hockey for over thirty years and in doing so, yes, I’ve sustained multiple broken bones, lost teeth, the whole nine. That fact is not being disputed, but what should be is whether the Flyers should look elsewhere to acquire some new medical staff next season. I’m talking replacing everyone from the top on down: Head Team Medical Physician Dr. Gary Dorshimer, Head Team Orthopedic Surgeon Brian Sennet, Head of Strength and Conditioning Chris Osmond, and yes- even look to replace the veteran Director of Medical Services Jim McCrossin. The reason I’m calling for their possible dismissal is not just the rate at which Flyers’ players are going down due to injury but also the frequency in which they are sustaining the same injuries over and over again. Take for instance the Flyers’ 6’6 defenseman Sam Morin. He is only 26 years old but is currently out once again for this third major knee injury. He has already gone through two operations on his right knee prior to this one to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL); once in 2018, and then again in 2019. Some may claim that this player is injury prone, but I would beg to differ: Before his first knee injury in 2018 he played two full professional seasons between the AHL and NHL and both years he was in the lineup and on the ice for at least 75 games. Although Morin plays a very physical brand of hockey, he has never had any other serious injuries before these knee issues and was never rushed back into the lineup after sustaining these injuries, nor has he ever been known to be lackadaisical in his rehab. He has always battled back from these injuries with the same type of drive and determination which he displays when he is out on the ice. So, my question is, was this procedure not done right the first time or could he have been rushed out of recovery too soon to make up for time lost? I don’t know, but with three knee injuries to his credit now it should be at least worth asking the question. Just one of these types of situations is not that compelling right? I get that. In order to further substantiate my premise on this let’s take a look at the Flyers’ current injury list. If you do, you’ll perhaps notice a common theme between most of the players on it, such as injuries like hips, core or hernia-related, and knee injuries which prove to be quite prevalent in nature in the Flyers locker room.

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/teams/PHI/philadelphia-flyers/injuries/

For example, let’s look at the players currently out with hip or groin-related injuries: 34-year-old Derick Brassard, 31-year-old Ryan Ellis and, just inserted back into the lineup, 24-year-old Tanner Laczynski. Now, while a hip injury may be excusable for aging players like Brassard and Ellis, they should not be so excusable for a player who is only 24. When you dive deeper into Laczynski’s injury history you’ll find that this was not only his first hip injury but not his first surgery on said area either. This young prospect sustained his latest injury (to his left hip) after competing in just the first two days of training camp this season after coming back from a four month stint where he was out for an injury to his right hip. That’s not all though: Prior to this, Laczynski had to miss mini training camp last off season because he had to have core muscle surgery. This is yet another of the Flyers’ promising prospects who, before turning pro and getting injured, had a relatively healthy career. During his time in the colligate ranks Laczynski was a standout star for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Since being under the medical supervision of the Flyers’ doctors though he has only been able to play in a total of 19 games in two seasons between the AHL and NHL combined. Starting to understand why people are starting to question their practices?

How about the issue this season of players like Hayes, Brassard, Ellis etc. who have gone out of the lineup for extended periods this season just to come back and get reinjured? Kevin Hayes has been battling an abdominal injury for some time now that dates back to late last season where he had to undergo hernia surgery in May. Since then, he has missed a significant amount of this season due to complications stemming from this injury. Case in point, Hayes had to miss the start of this season because in September he had to have another abdominal surgery. Making a return mid-way through this past November, Kevin’s play was still notably affected by this with him managing to score just three goals and six assists for nine points in 20 games played. But the lingering effects of this would prove to be too much because, come mid-January, Hayes was once again forced out of the lineup to have fluid drained from his adductor region (near his hip). This procedure, depending on what type, can indeed take time to heal fully as we Philadelphia fans learned when Claude Giroux and other Flyers have struggled in years’ past when dealing with this type of injury. Regardless of all that, the question still remains: if Hayes’ surgery was done right the first time would he still have needed to go back under the knife so many times thereafter for the same issue?    

Brassard, who came in and did well holding down the fort early for the team after Kevin Hayes went down due to injury, has since been out with a hip issue for months now. Originally obtaining this injury back in late November in a game against the Lightning, Derick has now tried three different times to return from it. Each time a setback has managed to keep him out for another month. The latest setback came on February 9^th against the Detroit Red Wings. Who’s to blame for these hindrances? Yes, father time may just be playing a part given Brassard’s age, but is that not where strength and conditioning/physical therapy are supposed to come in?  

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As far as the Flyers acquiring the injury-prone defenseman Ryan Ellis, it has always been a bit of an enigma to me why management made that decision in the first place. I guess they just threw caution to the wind and made a gutsy decision based largely out of extreme need. As of now that decision has proved to backfire given the fact that Ellis (while dominant when in the lineup this year), sadly, has only been able to play in four games thus far this season. The team won’t say exactly the reason for him missing most of the year, but what’s been hinted around is- you guessed it- a hip or groin issue. Ellis was able to play in just three games to start the season before being injured. The fan base was relieved when he was able to suit up for a game in November but had the wind taken out of their sails when Ryan went right back out on the injured reserve list after that game against the Stars. Now that it looks like he won’t return at all this season the Flyers have been left once again with a lackluster defensive core which has attributed to their losing record. With each of these players’ failed attempts to return, the pressure or blame should then be placed back on the rehab team (strength & conditioning/ physical therapy). 

Although these are but a few of the Flyers who are injured, they are the ones whose situations are the most questionable. A broken bone is a broken bone, a concussion is a concussion; the best thing for those type of injuries is time. But as far as some of the other type of injuries go, including-but not limited to- the ones listed above, there’re several different treatment plans that a doctor could follow in order to get these players back out on the ice that much quicker. Those decisions in treatment can definitely affect a team’s outcome on the season- good or bad. If the medical staff makes the right one and gets a star player healed up properly and back out on the ice 100% healthy again, his team will most likely remain in the hunt for the playoffs. But if the wrong decision or shoddy surgical work has been done, it often results in that player having recurring problems (not saying this is the case with the Flyers merely using this as a broad spectrum example league wide). With that being said, was there something more the Flyers medical professionals listed above could have done for the Flyers’ players discussed that could have resulted in their return to the lineup sooner and sustain their presence in the lineup once there? That is to be determined and should be reviewed. If there’s any truth to these allegations, should both Jim McCrossin (who has been with the team for almost 25 years now), and Dr. Dorshimer (who has been with the team for 29 years and practicing for over 40 years) be deemed out of touch with “modern medicine” and thus be asked to retire or seek a new job elsewhere? Like I said, I’m no medical professional; I’m simply raising questions here that should at least be assessed this offseason.