Strange Epidemic Hits NHL. Sad List Grows with Russian Player

The NHL season has just kicked off, but the list of injuries in some teams is growing at an alarming rate. What is particularly unpleasant for coaches is that players are increasingly missing games not due to collisions on the ice, but due to much more banal and unexpected reasons. One such case was the incident involving Russian forward Aleksei Toropchenko from the St. Louis Blues, who found himself out of play due to burns on his legs, received at home.
And this is far from being the only strange injury in recent weeks – Jack Hughes and Eetu Luostarinen are also missing matches after household incidents.
The unfortunate incident at home. What happened to Toropchenko?The St. Louis Blues reported that Aleksei Toropchenko has been placed on the injured list: the forward has burns on his legs, sustained as a result of a household episode. According to the club, it was a scalding incident, and the player will miss several weeks. That is, no one is giving exact timelines, but hoping for a quick return is not advisable.
For the Blues, the loss is not fatal but significant. This season, the Russian has played 17 games, scoring a goal and an assist. He has a total of 276 games for St. Louis in the regular season, with 62 points (31+31). A consistent, dependable forward relied upon every night.
Due to the roster gap, St. Louis had to urgently call up Alexander Kaskimaki from the AHL. And that’s not the only loss: rookie James Snaggarud is out for six weeks after a wrist injury requiring surgery. The club currently sits only 13th in the West (25 points in 26 games), and now the depth of the squad is approaching zero.
Injury at team dinner and burns at the barbecueIf Toropchenko’s story sounds unusual, Jack Hughes’ case looks downright surreal. The New Jersey Devils forward slipped during a team dinner and cut his hand – so severely that finger surgery was required.
Before the injury, Hughes was in fantastic form: 20 (10+10) points in 17 games, an attacking leader and one of the main young stars of the NHL. He is now out for eight weeks, with a follow-up examination scheduled for the sixth. The Devils, to say the least, did not expect to lose Hughes due to a slippery restaurant floor.
Another episode – no less unexpected. Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen burned himself during a barbecue and also will be out for several weeks. Head coach Paul Maurice confirmed that no serious medical intervention was needed, but the player’s return will depend on how comfortable he can be with wearing equipment on the injured areas. Luostarinen had managed to score 10 points (3+7) in 18 games and was an important element in the lower lines.
Why are there more bizarre injuries in the NHL?On the one hand, accidents always happen – players are ordinary people who cook, rush, relax. On the other hand, the concentration of such episodes in a short period looks almost anomalous: burns at home (Toropchenko, December 1), cut at dinner (Hughes, November 15), burns at the barbecue (Luostarinen, November 19). It would be funny if not for the consequences: all three are out for weeks, and in Hughes’ case – for two months. This poses serious gaps in the teams’ lineups.
The coming weeks will be about recovery for the Russian player. While the club does not disclose how long he will be out, burn treatment and returning to wearing equipment is a slow process. St. Louis will be waiting for his return – the team needs depth and a hard-working forward who does a large amount of unseen but important work. And fans can only hope that the series of strange household injuries in the NHL will finally come to an end.