An injury update on NHL defenseman Haydn Fleury has been provided by Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel. On Tuesday, January 6, Fleury slid headfirst into the boards after losing his balance upon being checked by Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar in the first period at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. The player was taken off the ice in a stretcher with Winnipeg’s bench heading onto the ice to show support to their teammate. After Vegas won in a 4-3 overtime win, the coach said the 29-year-old Canadian was then taken to the hospital for an overnight stay.
Fleury’s injuries are not as “serious” as originally thought
On Wednesday, Arniel shared that Haydn Fleury was released from the hospital on the same day and was already back with the Jets, though he sustained several injuries due to the severe collision with the boards, per NHL.
“He’s got a broken nose, a bruised back,” the coach explained. “Obviously, it’s not at first what we thought. It’s not as serious as when we’re seeing him go off on a stretcher.”
While Arniel admitted that the defenseman was “banged up pretty good,” he said that it was “great to see him here today.”
However, the team is still assessing whether Fleury sustained a concussion. Arniel said, “You bang your head that hard… I’m not saying it’s a concussion yet, but he still has to go through the next few days here and see how he feels. He may wake up three days from now and feel great [or] he may wake up three days from now and have some issues.”
Fleury was been placed on injury reserve retroactive to Tuesday, with him being replaced by forward Danil Zhilkin from Manitoba in the American Hockey League.
This marks the second season that the defenseman has been with the Winnipeg Jets. While Fleury has scored 10 career goals in the NHL, he has not recorded a point in 17 games this season.
