ANAHEIM – Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler will be out from two to six weeks with a right knee injury, General Manager Bob Murray announced Thursday prior to his team’s home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Fowler was hurt Tuesday when Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano connected on a knee-to-knee hit that immediately left a critical player for the Ducks in pain and required him to be leave the game with assistance. He underwent an MRI exam on Wednesday, which Murray said did not reveal any type of significant tear.
It means Fowler will at least miss much, if not all, of their first-round series in the Stanley Cup playoffs and could be lost to the Ducks well beyond that, if they advance.
“It could come around really quickly and it could not come around quickly,” Murray said. “We’ll know much more by the time the playoffs start. I’m not avoiding anything. It’s just the way this injury is.”
Fowler has had knee injuries in the past, missing chunks of time in 2013-14 and 2015-16 because of ligament sprains.
“When I saw the hit, your heart goes in your mouth,” Murray said. “You’re thinking that’s it for the year. I think he may have gotten a little bit of a break but again, I’ll know more in a week or week and a half. And he’ll know where he’s at.”
No penalty was assessed on the play and Giordano did not receive a hearing, to which Murray simply said, “If that’s the standard, that’s the standard. I have no use.” Instead, Murray took aim at the Flames’ captain, making a likely reference to a 2011 knee-on-knee hit on then-Ducks forward Bobby Ryan.
“The big thing in hockey today is concussions,” Murray continued. “But I still, as an old player, have no use for knee-on-knee hits. Especially if I think they’re somewhat intentional.
“I hear how Gio’s a good guy and he’s this and he’s that. The media in Toronto saying ‘Well, he’s a good guy.’ He’s done this before. I have no respect for people who go after knees. I’m sorry, but knees, they wreck your careers real quick. I don’t like it. I know I’ve said too much but I don’t care.”
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