Walker sidelined 10-12 weeks
Daily News Flyers blog
Walker sidelined 10-12 weeks
Matt Walker probably could have planned umpteen better introductions to the Flyers.
But those formal re-introductions will have to wait at least 10 to 12 weeks, as the newly acquired defenseman will undergo hip surgery Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., to repair a nagging injury.
“Matt Walker will undergo surgery on his right hip [Tuesday] to repair a boney impingement and a torn labrum,” general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. “The surgery will take place in Nashville and will be performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd. Matt is expected to be out of action for 10-12 weeks.”
Walker, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 19 with a 4th round pick in exchange for Simon Gagne, had yet to play in the regular season because of his injury.
Walker, 30, had experienced pain prior to his fight with Matt Kassian on Sat. Sept. 25 in a non-televised preseason game in Minnesota. Walker said he got tangled up with Kassian and fell awkwardly, knowing then that he would probably need something done to fix the pain.
The video of his 54-second fight is below.
"It's just one of those things that affected how I play the game," Walker told the Daily News. "As a defenseman, your hip is twisting a lot with skating, shooting and pivoting. It's definitely something in the long run that is best to take care of now rather than be limping into the second half of the season."
Even with Walker out close to 3 months, Holmgren said he would be unlikely to utilize the Long Term Injured Reserve cushion in the salary cap for Walker’s $1.7 million salary. Michael Leighton’s $1.55 million salary is already on LTIR. The Flyers said they would rather not put Ian Laperriere’s $1.16 million on the LTIR as it could impede future moves, even though Laperriere is likely out for the entire season.
Walker, a Beaver Lodge, Alberta, native, is a lumbering (6-foot-2, 225 pound), stay-at-home defenseman. For now, the Flyers will not need to re-call anyone to replace him on the roster. Oskars Bartulis, who played the first two regular season games while Chris Pronger continued rehabbing his knee, will act as the extra defenseman.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.
Why is Leighton's salary on the LTIR list? I thought he was going to come back this season. And why WOULDN'T you put Lappy's salary on it? My guess is that his career is over. And how would putting it on the list IMPEDE future moves? I don't admit to being a salary cap guru, but this really doesn't make sense.— uncle meat- LTIR means a player will miss at least 10 games or 24 days. It provides a cap bonus to replace the injured player while he is out. Without putting Leighton on LTIR, they couldn't fit Bobrovsky. The reason they don't LTIR Laperriere or Walker is that they still count against the cap-and if you use the bonus cushion to replace them, you hurt your cap at the end of the year or even moving forward. LTIR doesn't come off the cap-it just allows you extra temporary room.— JSaq
- You cant trade a guy on LTIR or move his salary to the AHL. If he straight up retires, we'll be on the hook for his entire cap hit. Thats why Hatcher and Rathje took forever to retire, it was a cap circumvention move for guys with huge, one way contracts.— BoredAtWork
- Go Oscar!!!— flyerdup
- So basically, the guy lost the fight AND got hurt in the process. Knucklehead!— flyerdup
- Oskars Bartulis, that is.— flyerdup
- Does it concern anyone that the Flyers have had an unusual number of torn labrums in our players hips? What are they doing in the weight room and practice that this injury has become routine, yet never hear of any other teams have the same issue as much as we have.— kwasi2323
- Does it concern anyone that the Flyers have had an unusual number of torn labrums in our players hips? What are they doing in the weight room and practice that this injury has become routine, yet never hear of any other teams have the same issue as much as we have.— kwasi2323
does it concern any of the flyers fans that we basically gave up gagne for nothing?- I was thinking the same thing Kwasi...I hadn't heard the word Labrum outside of school before Nitty got hurt a few years back...now hip injuries are commonplace with the Flyers...what the heck is wrong with the medical staff?— pucky88
- A little addition to JSaq's explanation -
NHL teams may have a max of 2 players on the LTIR. Having Leighton on it provides a 1.550 M Cap bonus relief. Placing Laperriere or Walker on it would lock it up temporarily.
With both LTIR slots taken, if a high-Cap player (3 to 6 M such as Briere, Richards, Timonen, etc) were to go down for a projected very lengthy injury or a possible season-ending injury, the GM would not be able place him on LTIR, gain the Cap relief, and make a deal with another NHL team to fill the much needed vacancy with a quality player until one of the other LTIR players came off the LTIR.— PhillyTeam - I know one way they'd have more cap room...trade Gagne for draft picks! Not enother player with a $1.7 million salary! Maybe it's the quality of our practice ice? Our guys always seem slower and get hurt in a lot of places that suggest the skating conditions aren't great. Hips, groins, knees...— MichaelZoe
- Hey, I loved Gagne as much as anyone, but the guy is a team-worst -7, with no goals and no assists so far this year. Ouch. Walker may be an unusable stiff, but he isn't hurting us while not playing. Gagne is hurting the Lightning right now. With Zherdev looking productive and a draft pick in hand, I am not nearly as upset about the Gagne trade as I was a few months ago.
- Tried twice - perhaps exceeded the word limit - try again in 2 posts -
Shemp and Michael - we all know why -
It was a good trade. And, good Cap management. Holmgren is a top GM.
Trading Gagne was NOT a mistake. It was smart team planning.
This Flyers' team does not need Gagne's goals. They will score a ton of goals. Making up for Gagne's goals, plus more, will be the continued up-side growth of Giroux and vanRiemsdyk, the full season of Leino, the rebound of Carter and Hartnell, the PP goals of Meszaros, and the maturation of Zherdev, who alone may score 30, as he is now surrounded with excellent coaching and his new "25 year old" peer group.
We thank Gagne for his great years with the Flyers and we wish him well in TB and hope he, at age 30 and concussion prone, can stay healthy.— PhillyTeam - The Gagne trade was good cap management? Taking back an 8th defenseman making 1.7 mill per year for the next 3 years is considered good? Like MichaelZoe said, holmgren should have just taken the draft pick. Walker is a waste of cap space and a roster spot.— duffers
