from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province,
Erik Gudbranson had been playing some of his best hockey of late with a wonky shoulder. He was physical and had two shot blocks against the Kings in Los Angeles on Monday.
However, when he suffered the injury Nov. 22 in Pittsburgh, he missed 12 games and then needed to wear a shoulder brace for protection and to battle through games. Signed to a three-year, $12 million US contract extension on Feb. 20, he was the subject of trade rumours before striking the deal. Gudbranson had five points (2-3) in 53 games, was third in team hits (126), fourth in blocked shots (81) and was logging 18:25 of average ice time.
“He has been playing through it for a long part of the season and he didn’t want to end his season,” said Green. “He wanted to keep playing but felt that this was best long term. You want to see guys battle through injury and he did a good job of it and I thought in the L.A. game he was really good.
“When you’re trying to decide when and if to have surgery, it’s not easy. For him playing with the brace and being a physical guy, I’m sure that weighed in.”
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