The Los Angeles Kings are the latest team to be bitten by a significant injury at the World Cup of Hockey.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi revealed to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times that forward Marian Gaborik, who was hurt during Team Europe's stunning 3-2 win over Sweden in the semifinals, will be sidelined about eight weeks with a foot injury. That obviously means Gaborik will miss the World Cup's championship series against Canada and probably the entire first month of the regular season.
Gaborik is a pretty big loss for Team Europe. He scored the team's first goal in the semifinal and had one against the U.S. as well. With the Europeans already facing a massive depth deficit against Canada, they really couldn't afford to lose anyone else. It looks like Mikkel Boedker will be the next man up to replace him, assuming Europe dresses another forward instead of going with seven defensemen. Boedker has not played a game yet in the tournament.
The veteran forward has battled injuries throughout his career and appeared in only 54 games last season for the Kings.
Gaborik didn't have a good first half of the year and got hurt just as he was starting to heat up. He missed the last 28 games of the regular season with a knee injury before returning for the playoffs.
The veteran winger finished the year with 22 points in 54 regular-season games and just one assist in four postseason contests. So he certainly was hoping to enter this year with eyes on a big bounce-back season. Now that will be delayed.
Gaborik is entering only the third year of a seven-year extension he signed with Los Angeles following the team's Stanley Cup win in 2014. He is due to make $6.075 million in actual salary this year, while owning a $4.875 million cap hit. Over the last two seasons combined, Gaborik has missed 41 games.
Gabroik now joins a growing list of players with fairly serious injuries related to the World Cup. Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin suffered a fractured heel during a World Cup pre-tournament game, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray suffered a broken hand and Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad sustained a reported concussion while they were playing for Team North America.
Every GM knew going in that there was a chance their players could be hurt in the preseason tournament. When the league goes back to discuss if it should continue the World Cup in the future, the risk-reward discussion will obviously be one of the most important.
