Kraken captain Eberle returns to lineup after missing 14 weeks
Published
Seattle Kraken captain Jordan Eberle will return to the lineup for a matchup against the Florida Panthers on Saturday after missing 14 weeks, the team said.
Eberle last played on Nov. 14 when he suffered a pelvic injury after getting tangled with a Chicago Blackhawks player and crashing awkwardly into the boards.
According to NHL.com, no other hockey players have suffered this type of injury.
The recovery process was overwhelming for the 34-year-old forward.
“It was a lot,” Eberle told NHL.com. “It's definitely the hardest thing I've gone through, from getting hurt; knowing something was pretty wrong; to finding out the news and then having to deal with something.
"The hardest part for me was this is an injury that I couldn't find evidence of another hockey player having. So, to have to go through surgery, I was obviously in the mindset of, ‘am I going to be able to actually come back and play hockey again?’ Those thoughts cross your mind.”
The Regina, Sask., native has six goals and five assists in 17 games this season and 305 goals and 408 helpers in 1035 career NHL contests.
Seattle enters Saturday's game sitting seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 24-29-4, while the Panthers are 34-20-3 and first in the Atlantic.