Tampa Bay Lightning Report: Did Ryan Callahan Back Himself Into A Corner?

1. Why didn’t Callahan have the surgery done when the problem first occurred?

The problem with Ryan Callahan’s injured hip didn’t just occur in June when he had the issue attended to. In fact, Callahan began having difficulties with his right hip around the halfway point in the 2015-16 season. Unfortunately, the issue continued to hinder him heading into the postseason as well.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Once the halfway point in the season came around, it was apparent there was something wrong with Callahan, but no one could quite put their finger on it. Many just dismissed any potential injury under the guise if there was something wrong; the team wouldn’t possibly let him play, would they?

Unfortunately, this was not the case. When you take a look back at his numbers from the 2015-16 season, you can definitely tell Cally wasn’t his normal self. In the 73 games he played last season, he was only able to bring home 10 goals and 18 assists for a total of 28 points. This was a far cry from the 54 point season he had one season earlier.

Reasonably speaking, there is really only one reason a player would try to play through the pain like Callahan did. First and foremost, Ryan Callahan is an integral part of the team. In addition to being a veritable force on the ice, he is a major part of the Lightning’s leadership core.

At the point his hip began bothering him last season, the Lightning was attempting to make a real push at the postseason. The Lightning had a much better chance at achieving their goal with their team intact. This was more than likely the biggest contributing factor to Callahan’s decision to play through the pain.

At the same time, could the delay in treatment have made the situation much worse than it needed to be? Who is to say if he had the injury looked at back then he would have been forced to miss the final half of the season, or even any potential postseason the Lightning may have had?

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Unfortunately, we are writers and not medical doctors; therefore there is no way to tell if the situation would’ve ended any differently.

However, having injured our hip before (not to the extent of Callahan’s, though) we are well aware how important it can be to get an injury treated as soon as possible. At the same time, while we may have been involved in High School sports at the time, being a professional athlete is a much bigger deal.

One may never truly know what could have been if Callahan had made a different decision on his treatment. Maybe he would have been back in time for last year’s postseason, maybe not. Maybe he would be playing right now, maybe not. Unfortunately, it’s hard to look back at the path not traveled once a different path has been chosen.