Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Campbell Out Long-Term

The news is as bad as expected for Brian Campbell and the Chicago Blackhawks. After taking a nasty tumble into the boards after a push from Alex Ovechkin (which earned him a suspension), Campbell suffered a fractured clavicle and fractured rib, both of which do not require surgery, but will keep the smooth skating defender out of the line-up for 7-to-8 weeks, ending this regular season and putting his participation in the playoffs at risk.

At the beginning of the week, I had Campbell ranked 151st in pool scoring this season, having 7 goals and 31 assists in 68 games with the Blackhawks this season. He was doing well to bounce back from a sub-part season in 2009, where he only managed 21 points in 53 games, ranking him in the low-300s. He was a good pool performer this season, but with less than a month to go, his scoring will now come to an end and he'll likely fall down into the 200s this season.

ImplicationsThis injury will have a big impact on Benson in the Draft, who is currently locked in a tight battle from 6th to 8th, all of which only 1o or 11 points from 5th place, so it will hurt him here. Benson's defense has been good this year, as its tied for 3rd in pool scoring as a group this season, with 146 points. Losing depth like Campbell definitely won't help him in the long-haul.

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