Los Angeles Kings’ winger Marian Gaborik out 8 weeks with foot injury
Marian Gaborik will miss the rest of the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe, and the Los Angeles Kings will be without him into the regular season.
Training camps are getting going around the NHL, as the World Cup of Hockey winds down. Team Europe will face Team Canada in a best-of-three final series for that tournament, but the Europeans will be without a key offensive player in Los Angeles Kings’ winger Marian Gaborik.
According to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, Gaborik will miss the best-of-three series with a foot injury and he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the NHL regular season. According to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, Kings’ general manager Dean Lombardi has confirmed Gaborik will be sidelined for eight weeks.
Per Kings GM Dean Lombardi, Gaborik will be out eight weeks because of foot injury incurred at the World Cup.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) September 26, 2016
Gaborik was reportedly spotted leaving Air Canada Centre after Monday’s practice on crutches, with his right foot in a cast. Team Europe head coach Ralph Krueger went into full NHL-mode when asked about it, saying Gaborik had “a lower body injury that we’re still managing” while saying he couldn’t diagnose the injury after practice.
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Injuries have been the primary story of Gaborik’s career, including last season when he missed the final 28 regular season games and one playoff game with a knee injury. The 34-year old has played all 82 games only once in 15 seasons, with more than 55 games played just once in the last three campaigns.
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Gaborik has been productive over the course his career, with 437 points (219 goals, 218 assists) over 502 regular season games with four teams. But his availability always seems to be a question, and his name has been attached to potential more than actual elite-level offensive production. He has five seasons left on his contract ($4.875 million annual salary cap hit), and it’s hard to see the Kings seeing that obligation through to the end without a trade or a buyout.