Tampa Bay Lightning Report: Did Ryan Callahan Back Himself Into A Corner?
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan has spent almost the entire season on the Injured List due to his surgically repaired hip, bearing the question, did he return too soon?
The Tampa Bay Lightning received some pretty bad news at the onset of the off-season. On June 21st, just under one month after being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Lightning would receive news one of their key players would be down for an extended period of time.
You see, this was the day the news broke Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan underwent successful surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. It was believed this would cause him to miss around five months away from the ice. This was particularly devastating news for Callahan.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Not only would his injury mean he would no longer be able to represent Team USA at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, but he would also be forced to miss at least the first month of the 2016-17 season, which was scheduled to open on October 13th against the Detroit Red Wings.
Surprisingly enough, the 31-year-old Lightning forward would make his return to the ice a little sooner than initially expected. Callahan would make his triumphant return to the ice on October 30th as the Lightning took on Cally’s former team, the New York Rangers. It was quite a fitting return for the former Rangers captain.
Cally wouldn’t find himself on the scoresheet in his first game back, but just one game later Callahan would register an assist in the second period against the New York Islanders on a goal from Lightning forward Brian Boyle. Little did Lightning fans know, just 16 games later, Callahan would be on the injured list once again.
On January 7th, it would be announced Callahan was once again having issues with his surgically repaired hip. One week later, the Lightning would announce Ryan Callahan was expected to miss another four weeks due to his injury.
This brings us to where we are now. Four weeks have come and gone and there is still no official word on a potential return date for the Lightning alternate captain. The current situation opens up so many questions about Callahan’s injury.
Over the next couple of pages, we will take a look at some of the burning questions revolving around Ryan Callahan’s current injury and see if we can add some much-needed perspective to the situation.