Suzuki caught off guard by Canadiens' training staff firings
Published
After setting the record two years in a row for man games lost in a season, the Montreal Canadiens made changes to their medical staff this week, parting ways with chief athletic therapist Graham Rynbend and chief physiotherapist Donald Balmforth.
In 2022-23, the Canadiens set an NHL record for man-games lost in a campaign with 751 after previously setting the record in 2021-22 with 721.
Captain Nick Suzuki, who was the only Canadiens player to play all 82 games the past two seasons and has not missed a game since making his NHL debut in 2019-20, says he was caught off guard by the firings.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Suzuki told the Montreal Gazette. “I knew (general manager Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations) were looking into that side with all the injuries, but I didn’t know what was going to happen until everyone else found out.”
Suzuki adds he had a great relationship with both Rynbend and Balmforth. Rynbend was with the organization for 19 seasons while Balmforth had just completed his second year with the team.
“I thought both of them did a good job,” Suzuki said. “I think whoever comes in next is going to have their own kind of way. I feel like all physiotherapists kind of have their own ways of doing things. Whoever comes in next we’ll meet them … I don’t know when. I don’t think we’re going to change too much. Both of them are respected. It just so happened that they got let go. We’ll see what happens next.”
As the season went on, the injuries piled up for the Canadiens. Cole Caufield (shoulder), Sean Monahan (groin), Christian Dvorak (knee) and Arber Xhekaj (shoulder) all had season-ending surgeries while Kirby Dach (concussion), Josh Anderson (ankle) as well as rookies Kaiden Guhle (ankle) and Juraj Slafkovsky (lower-body) had their seasons end early. Brendan Gallagher only played 37 games due to injury while Mike Matheson played 48.
Guhle, 21, had four goals and 18 points in 44 games as a rookie defenceman last season while averaging 20:31 TOI. He says he is now recovered from his high ankle sprain.
“A lot of the injuries that happened were unpreventable ones and just bad luck and not their fault at all,” Guhle said of the firings.
The Canadiens finished 28th overall in standings and hold the fifth overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft on June 28 in Nashville.