Anthony Mazziotti
Andrew MacDonald suffered a lower-body injury while blocking a shot in Saturdays 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers.
This is injury is not great for the Flyers. While he is not the best defenseman on the roster, he is still a professional who logs a lot of minutes and provides veteran leadership. MacDonald is always watched under a microscope and his play is picked apart more than anyone else on the team. At the end of the day, he earned his spot on the team and is a better option than anyone else in the system at this point in time. Also for what it’s worth, he was voted alternate captain for away games. It’s clear that the rest of the team thinks highly of him.
It is also worth noting that a lot of the fan base’s beef with MacDonald comes from the hefty contract that Paul Holmgren offered him before Ron Hextall took over as the general manager. It is not his fault that Holmgren gave out bad contracts like candy on Halloween.
On the flip side this injury is pretty timely. I know it’s wrong to say you’re excited about a player getting injured, but with MacDonald sidelined for 4-6 weeks, there’s a real possibility that we will see Sam Morin play and get some valuable NHL minutes. How cool will it be to see your defensive pairings of the future early this season? I’m talking Provorov-Morin, Hagg-Gostisbehere, and Gudas-Sanheim. I’m drooling thinking about it.
*Debbie Downer inbound* It hasn’t been reported that Sam Morin will be called up, and the Flyers still have Brandon Manning on the roster. It was widely thought that Morin would have earned a spot after camp and the preseason, but he was beat out by Travis Sanheim.
As bad as it sounds, this injury couldn’t have come at a better time. The season is still young so the Flyers can take a risk and get their young prospect some valuable time without having to worry about losing points and missing the playoffs. They can also take their time with bringing MacDonald back (if they so choose), so they can get an extended look at Morin. The other option would be calling up a different prospect; Dave Isaac of the Courier Post reported Mark Alt could receive the call. If that’s the case they’ll split time with Brandon Manning. I’m really praying for the former.
Get well soon, AMac.
The Flyers return to action on Tuesday night against the Ducks at the Well. Puck drops at 7:00.
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