Myers hoping to get in a game before season ends for Jets

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This article was published 01/04/2017 (3098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was an extremely rare Tyler Myers sighting at Saturday morning’s pre-game skate at the MTS Centre.

The 6-8, 229-pound Winnipeg Jets defenceman had missed 62 consecutive games while attempting to rehab and then requiring surgery for an unspecified lower-body injury. His full participation in a team workout seemed to be an indicator he was close to playing again.

The Jets host the Ottawa Senators tonight (6 p.m., Sportsnet, TSN 1290) and will have three more regular-season games to conclude the 2016-17 season.

“It felt pretty good,” said Myers, who has played only 11 games this season, registering two goals and five points. “I’m trying to work as hard as I can to get back for one or two at the end. It’s been a tough year but I’m finally starting to feel better. I’m excited about that. It’s definitely tough watching but it’s good to get out there with the guys again.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice had previously referred to the injury a “soft-tissue” issue, which led reporters to conclude the ailment was groin related. Myers has been slowly working on his conditioning during solo sessions in recent weeks.

“At this point, it’s pretty well healed,” said Myers, 27. “There’s some things like scar tissue that I have to work through. It was a little bit of a nuisance but we’ll evaluate how this last week goes and hopefully, it gets to the point where I’m feeling comfortable enough to step in.”

Myers has missed a total of 67 games due to injury but his season took a nightmarish turn on Jan. 5 when his wife, Michela, required an emergency C-section and gave birth to Tristan Myers five weeks prematurely. The ordeal, first detailed in a report by TSN’s Sara Orlesky, required the newborn to remain hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit where he suffered a stroke and pulmonary hemorrhage.

Tristan is now at home and reportedly doing well.

“It’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure,” said Myers. “But it’s heading in the right direction now. The good thing is I’ve been able to keep with it mentally. Even just watching the games and keeping my mind right to be ready if I do come back and step back in. I’m just going to see how it goes this last week. It’ll come down to if I’m ready and don’t want to come back too early.”

Myers stressed the importance of trying to return for at least a game rather than being cautious and shutting down for the season.

“If we didn’t think there was a chance, maybe, but there’s still a chance I could be ready to come back,” said Myers. “If that’s the case, even if other people are thinking that, I’ll probably make a pitch to step back in.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice understood Myers’ eagerness to play at least one game but wanted to temper that enthusiasm.

“We’d like him to get to the health level that he’s really confident, so he’s not going in at 90 per cent,” said Maurice. “There will be two pieces, the injury and then the conditioning and the game readiness. We can give a little on the conditioning and the game readiness if the injury was solved and he felt confident. We’d like to get him in a game but there’s no sense in risking the injury portion. And when you’re not quite as sharp and not quite as in shape, you might increase that chance.

“But he’s been in the league a long time and he’s certainly dealt with this for an entire year. He’s the guy who is going to make this call at the end. If it happens, it will be probably the last game or the last two.”

Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in net for the Jets tonight.

NOTEWORTHY

Maurice also revealed veteran defenceman Paul Postma, who has missed Winnipeg’s last seven games, underwent hernia surgery on both sides Friday.

“He had it, played as long as he could,” said Maurice. “We’re not shutting him down because we’re out of it. He played up until the point he felt he couldn’t play anymore. Some of these you operate on, some you don’t. We gave it a week to kind of calm down, saw some surgeons who thought it was the best approach.”

Maurice also said blue-liner Ben Chiarot (upper body) has been given medical clearance and could return to the lineup next week.

 

 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14