SURGERY: But Can Kadri Still Return? Longtime Hockey Doctor Thinks So

EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Seven to 10 days. That’s what one longtime sports doctor told me Nazem Kadri should realistically only miss after having surgery on his right thumb today in Denver. But is that too optimistic?

If it were only 10 days that Kadri misses, that would still put Kadri in the Stanley Cup Finals, which will start either June 15 or 18, Colorado Hockey Now learned earlier today.

I guess it’ll come down to: Can they rig something up so Kadri can play somehow? Because it’s surgery that was needed, it would seem that he would need a longer recovery

But I did talk to a top surgeon tonight who has performed such procedures on thumbs before, and while I can’t use his name, I can write what he said:

“For a Cup final, we would almost for sure have a guy play with it. So even (in my opinion) if not as effective in faceoffs and scoring, it would be more important to have him out there than on the bench. Likely, 7-10 days.”

Jack Eichel played the last six weeks of the regular season with a broken thumb for the Vegas Golden Knights. But, apparently, he was able to do so because he did not need surgery on it. It was a “non-displaced” injury to the thumb. The surgery performed on Kadri today in Denver would strongly suggest there was displacement of the joint.

Still, my surgeon – who is very legit, I promise – said, “Guranteed, 20 year ago we’d have him playing.”

The Avs put Mikko Rantanen as a second-line center tonight in Game 4 here in Edmonton, with Andre Burakovsky and Artturi Lehkonen next to him.

The Avs are really going to miss Kadri’s play away from the puck, almost as much with it. He’s a strong defender who wins faceoffs and gets in guys’ faces. He also put up more than a point per game on the season.

It’s a big loss, no matter how you slice it.

But maybe – maybe – he’ll still be back. Darren Dreger first reported news of the surgery today, and he also said Kadri has not been ruled out for the Cup Finals – if the Avs get that far, of course.