July 2: The Panthers have announced that Duclair has undergone successful surgery with an anticipated return of midseason.
June 29: The start of the 2022-23 season isn’t going well for the Florida Panthers. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Panthers forward Anthony Duclair suffered an Achilles tendon injury during offseason training and will likely require surgery. Though Friedman notes that the current timeline is unclear, surgery would mean a lengthy recovery.
In 2018, for instance, Jean-Gabriel Pageau suffered a torn Achilles during the first day of training camp with the Ottawa Senators and was given a six-month recovery timeline. Panthers fans will be happy to know that it took nowhere near that long for him to actually return. Pageau was activated less than four months later and was in the lineup in early January.
Of course, there are other instances that weren’t so successful. Michal Kempny of the Washington Capitals underwent Achilles surgery in October 2020 and ended up missing nearly the entire 2020-21 season.
For Duclair, this is brutal timing given his recent performance. The 26-year-old winger is coming off a 31-goal season with the Panthers–the best of his career–and is finally an important member of a team’s attack. The 2013 third-round pick worked his way through the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators before arriving in Sunrise but has found a home with Florida.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Hopefully a great recovery for him. Might be a little slower then usual..