Josh Gorges is one of the most honest voices in the Canadiens’ dressing room. But on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after it was announced he’d be undergoing season-ending knee surgery, the defenceman revealed a secret he’d been harbouring for the last seven years: He has no anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The truth came to light when Gorges met with media to discuss his injury. A warrior on the ice and as competitive as they come, the forced stint on the sidelines is a tough pill to swallow.
“This obviously sucks. As a player, you never want to be on the sidelines watching, and it’s something new for me so it’s going to be difficult to deal with. But that’s hockey,” he said.
Gorges tore his ACL while in his final year of junior hockey with his hometown Kelowna Rockets. He was able to keep playing, sporting a brace, and doctors told him as much at his preseason and end-of-year physicals. He knew eventually it would have to be fixed but was hoping it would come after his career.
But then earlier this year, he tore his meniscus. Gorges played through that until his knee locked up against the New York Islanders back on Dec. 26. That prompted the team to end his ironman streak at 150 games.
“I knew that there’s always some risk but I think you’re always at risk when you go out and play,” Gorges explained. “Obviously when you have little things like this the risk is heightened and it’s greater. But I never thought about, at that time, it would cause me any kind of damage that wouldn’t be fixable. And from talking to the doctors and the trainers and everybody, it was okay, as long as I was functional, and that was the word we always used.”
No date has been set yet although the blueliner expects it to be within the next week or so. Then it’s on to rehab, where he’ll become even better acquainted with Andrei Markov, who is working his way back from the same injury for the second time in less than a year. And if he wants more insight, he can turn to Jeff Halpern and James Wisniewski, both of whom have undergone the surgery as well.
While he admits that he’d be on the ice if it were up to him – “It’s something that I’ve always kind of prided myself in – that you just keep playing,” he said – he understands why he had to be shut down.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s the right decision. We have good people here that are looking out for my best interests and I trust that what we’re doing is the right thing,” offered Gorges. “For right now it’s tough to swallow and sucks, but down the road I’ll have a good knee that’s 100 percent functional and working better than it has in years.
“I’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel at some point and when that day comes, it’ll be good.”
The end of the tunnel that is the 2010-11 campaign also marks the end of the 26-year-old’s current contract. Injuries of this significance can sometimes frighten teams when it’s time for renewal. General Manager Pierre Gauthier said on Thursday that the club is keen on keeping Gorges in the fold and has conveyed that message to the defenceman.
“I’m a restricted free agent and the talks that I’ve had with the team, with Pierre Gauthier, have reassured me that I’m in no jeopardy of losing what I’ve done up to this point. And I think that’s something that they wanted to stress to me, that they want to look out for my best interests,” noted Gorges.
And in a true reflection of his leadership, he’ll be doing the same for his teammates.
“I (will) do the best I can and stay positive and be here to support the guys with whatever they need,” he said.
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