Arizona Coyotes’ Brad Richardson won’t return from leg injury this season
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LOS ANGELES – While the Coyotes knew center Brad Richardson was facing a long recovery after he was carted off the ice in mid-November with fractured tibia and fibula bones in his right leg, they didn’t rule out a return this season.
Richardson began rehabbing just a couple weeks after surgery and was back on the ice Jan. 30. More recently, he was practicing with the group – taking line rushes with the extras and staying late to skate with them and coaches.
But hope Richardson could resume playing this season finally expired Thursday after conferring with team personnel. A day later, he had screws removed from his leg – a procedure that was expected to happen once the schedule wrapped but was bumped up with Richardson’s season officially over.
“It’s a really tough injury,” coach Dave Tippett said. “The character of Brad, he pushed hard, but it just wasn’t going the right way for him. He’d have some good days and some tough days. … I think it’s a little bit of a relief for him actually to say, ‘OK, I’m just on to the next phase now and have a good summer and be ready for next year.’”
Richardson went down awkwardly on his right leg Nov. 17 after he was hit by 6-foot-7, 265-pound Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin. He was crumpled on the ice before being moved to a stretcher and transported to a local hospital.
The next day, Richardson underwent successful surgery in Vancouver before returning to the Valley a few days later.
Although he was able to get back in skates and eventually participate in practice, Richardson was still having issues with his leg, Tippett said.
“He just had to feel comfortable getting out and doing what he needed to do,” Tippett said. “There were days he felt good, but then he’d go back for a day. There was just not 100 percent confidence that he could do what he needed to do.”
One of the upsides of a return this season was that it would have allowed Richardson to put the injury behind him and not have the curiosity of how he’d feel playing again linger for the summer. But Tippett believes shutting him down was the appropriate call.
Asked how Richardson handled the news, Tippett said, “There’s probably some relief in there because he’d been pushing so hard to get back. But then probably some disappointment, too. He wanted to see if he could get back in before the end of the season.
“I really think this is the right decision for him. It’s an injury that’s not just physical. It’s a mental thing to get back up and going and know you can do it. So this gives him a real good summer of work. He had the small procedure done Friday. Everything went well there. Just gives him a positive outlook going into the summer and get himself up and going ready for camp.”
Tippett expects Richardson will be working out “full tilt” within a couple weeks after undergoing this latest procedure, and he could see Richardson’s summer workout plan intensifying since the 32-year-old’s missed so much time.
“I think he’ll show up in great shape and ready to go,” Tippett said. “He’s a pretty motivated guy.”
Richardson may not be able to return, but the Coyotes have welcomed back some other injured players.
Defenseman Kevin Connauton was in the lineup Sunday against the Kings after missing the previous 15 games with an upper-body injury – a setback that came in early March when Connauton had started to play more regularly after sitting as a healthy scratch for much of the season. Connauton was also injured during training camp, dealing with what looked like a knee injury.
“He worked really hard to get back and give himself a chance to play some games at the end of the year,” Tippett said. “So we gotta reward that work. He’s had a tough year with an injury to start the year and kind of in and out of the lineup a lot. But he’s been a really good teammate, worked hard every day. He’s one of those guys you like to get an opportunity.”
Goalie Mike Smith started against the Kings after backing up Louis Domingue Friday as Smith wasn’t feeling well, and captain Shane Doan remained in the lineup after returning Friday following a seven-game absence with a groin issue.
“I feel good, so I’m glad that I got the first one out of the way,” he said. “Felt good at the end of it. On to the next one, and try to contribute and help out.”
With Doan’s playing future unclear, the uncertainty has been “a little bit of the elephant in the room,” he said, but he hasn’t been dwelling on the situation as the season winds down.
“I’d love to be able to say, ‘Oh, this is what it is and this is what is isn’t,’” Doan said. “I haven’t made that decision yet. I’m enjoying it and looking forward to the last few games to be able to contribute and help out.”