Arizona Coyotes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to miss more than a month with injury
According to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, Arizona Coyotes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will miss 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury.
Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with an upper-body injury suffered in Tuesday’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
The injury occurred 5 1/2 weeks before the March 3 trade deadline. https://t.co/lUAedLcW9n
The injury occurred when Gostisbehere got roughed up during the January 24 game against the Anaheim Ducks. It is possible he could return before the trade deadline. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote about Gostisbehere being a solid trade target at the trade deadline.
Gostisbehere is an offensively-minded defenseman in the final year of his contract. His cap hit this season is $4.5 million.
This season, he has played 48 games and scored nine goals and 29 points with a -8 rating. Gostisbehere is behind only Jakob Chychrun in average ice time on the Coyotes.
The 29-year-old is one that will be heavily sought after near the deadline. He is an effective point producer and has been able to put up points no matter what team he’s been on. Over the last two seasons, he’s played 130 games for the rebuilding Coyotes, scoring 23 goals and 80 points.
It will be imperative for him to become healthy before the deadline because he is one of the biggest trade chips in Arizona. The Coyotes might also trade defenseman Jakob Chychrun, forwards Nick Bjugstad, Travis Boyd, Nick Ritchie, and maybe even goalie Karel Vejmelka if the offer is right.
This injury is a letdown for Arizona, because the next month would have been a perfect opportunity for Gostisbehere to showcase himself while teams are hungry to make moves. That’s not going to happen now, but at least the first half of the season was promising enough for the blueliner.
In 511 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes, the 29-year-old has 83 goals and 299 points. Gostisbehere was a Calder Trophy finalist in 2016, two years after being named the ECAC’s top defensive defenseman and finishing as a Hobey Baker finalist for best NCAA player.