FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida forward Brad Marchand is expected to miss the first month of the season, meaning the 38-year-old will be sidelined for the Panthers’ first 14 games, at minimum, while continuing to recover from offseason surgery.
Marchand revealed in mid-August that he had surgery, the details of which have not been released. He was dogged by a lower-body issue for much of last season when Florida’s hopes of contending for what would have been a third consecutive Stanley Cup were derailed by injuries throughout the lineup.
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“He’s going to take the month of October for rehab,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Thursday after the team’s first day of training camp. “That may mean he’s ready to play right at the end of it. That may mean he needs a short period of time, assuming no setbacks. But we’re planning on rehabbing for October.”
Marchand missed a career-high 30 games last season. He was effective — with 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points in 52 games — before getting shut down in early March, around the time it became clear that Florida was not going to qualify for the playoffs.
Marchand was on the ice Thursday, though not in either of the two sessions that Florida used for its first day of camp. He went through a separate workout with forward Jonah Gadjovich, who was limited to 10 games last season before having neck surgery.
Gadjovich remains out indefinitely, Maurice said.
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“There’s a couple of things that we’re trying to get sorted out,” Maurice said. “Clearly, it’s been a long-term issue for us and it hasn’t resolved, so we’re still looking at different options and searching for some answers on this to see if we can get him back playing. He’s skating, as you saw, so we’re not concerned with that. But we’ll list him as out indefinitely.”
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