habhob wrote:

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As of 11:40 EST, Apr 27, there still seems to be no definitive report yet on the injury to Koivu's left eye. Hope it isn't as serious as it looked. That stick check by Williams was incompetent, period. He didn't even go for Koivu's stick, looks to me like he tried to stick check him high up on the body and went too high. Accidental, but grossly incompetent. The Refs didn't even see this, it happened right in front of the net. In my opinion the Refs owe the Habs BIG TIME. Anyway, the Habs are playing super hockey, I'm really enjoying this series. Kovalev is amazing.

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I like this post.

From another Board:

Saku's condition from Team 990

Too much blood in the eye, won't know anything before a couple of days, their gut feeling is that we won't see him in this series, Gainey will have a press conference at 12:00 regarding different subjects but will address this situation as well.

 

That is more or less what i expected.  We won't be able to get a real prognosis till the blood is fully drained from around the eye.  Only thing we can really know for sure is if the orbital bones are broken or not.  I don't think they are, but we should know that soon.

I'll pipe in here with some medical info. The big danger here is damage to the retina at the bacl of the eye. Because it is made of nerve tissue, it heals poorly. Retinal detachment would be the worst case scenario here because it isnt often correctable, though attempts can be made. Bleeding into the globe (eyeball) is serious because it can also affect the retina, but usually clears over time. Trauma to the lens can cause cataract formation, but thankfully this is usually replaceable with a prosthetic lens. Whatever happens, Koivu will need close follow-up because late complications can occur years after the intial event.

Jay1982 wrote:

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There is nothing I'd like to see more than koivu returning to the habs bench this series. Captain K has shown is love of the game, and his respect for the team. I pray that his injury isn't serious, and that he could pull some Stevie Y type injury comeback. Like that year Steve played with 2 bum knees. hopefully we will find out more soon enough.

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Jay- as a a referee maybe you can justify to us how a blind man like Larue can be standing 10 feet away and miss a pitchfork to an eye?

AWOL wrote:

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I'll pipe in here with some medical info. The big danger here is damage to the retina at the bacl of the eye. Because it is made of nerve tissue, it heals poorly. Retinal detachment would be the worst case scenario here because it isnt often correctable, though attempts can be made. Bleeding into the globe (eyeball) is serious because it can also affect the retina, but usually clears over time. Trauma to the lens can cause cataract formation, but thankfully this is usually replaceable with a prosthetic lens. Whatever happens, Koivu will need close follow-up because late complications can occur years after the intial event.

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A rupture of any kind to the choroid would also probably be a career-ending injury.

A player like Koivu does not leave the ice like that unless its serious. It is true that Koivu has not put up great numbers this year, but he does not wear the C on his chest for that. He is a leader, and I believe that was proven when the Habs took the first two games on the road in Carolina. Leadership makes that happen.
On the bright side, should Koivu lose vision in his left eye, he will be eligible to officiate for the 2006-7 season.

This is from Yahoo.

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Koivu was clipped by the stick of Justin Williams near Carolina's net and taken off the ice as blood dripped down the left side of his face. No penalty was called on the play, which was not a deliberate high stick.

"I tried to cover Saku in front of the net, he came to the net and I obviously missed his stick and clipped him under the eye," said Williams, who said after Thursday's practice that he had left phone messages for Koivu but had not yet spoken to him. "There was no penalty on the play but I kept looking for him at the start of each period to see if he was back on the bench, but that wasn't so."

Koivu, who also overcame a battle with cancer four years ago, had 17 goals and 45 assists in his 10th season with Montreal and a pair of assists so far in the playoffs.

Edgar, nice sentiment in the first part, we all feel the same way, pulling for Saks as a person.

As for the 2nd part of the message, that has stopped and the principals are all good with it from what I understand. It was all said in a very emotional time and we should now move on.

From RDS:

Koivu rassure les partisans

Vendredi 28 avril 2006 - MONTREAL (PC) - Le capitaine du Canadien Saku Koivu a tenu à rassurer les partisans du Canadien. Dans une entrevue au "Journal de Montréal", il a déclaré de sa chambre à l'Hôpital général de Montréal qu'il garde le moral et qu'il n'a pas de douleur.

Koivu, qui a été blessé mercredi lorsqu'atteint à l'oeil gauche par le bâton de Justin Williams, sera absent de l'alignement du Canadien pour une période indéterminée. Il subira des examens plus approfondis au cours des prochaines heures dès que l'enflure aura diminué.

Il ne porte pas de bandage mais la blessure n'en est pas moins importante. Cependant, il semble que laisser l'oeil à découvert favoriserait une cicatrisation plus rapide.

This translates to something like:

Koivu wants to reassure the fans. He's keeping the faith and he is not in pain. He will be examined again once the swelling goes down. He doesn't have any bandages but that doesn't mean the injury is not important. It helps the area to heal if it is not covered up.

-- Edited by JohnM at 10:36, 2006-04-28

That's hopeful news Ando, fingers crossed!!!

A friend back in PEI said he heard on TSN today that it looks good (so far) for the eye but that the broken orbital will mean he's probably out for a while. But his career at least probably won't be threatened. But this is just one report. No idea the validity of it....

let me break it down what an Orbital fracture is:

When you break your Orbital bone, its when one or more bones surrounding the eye are broken, the condition is called orbital fracture. The orbit is the bony structure around the eye it usually is always a crack fracture, most often known as a "hairline fracture" . Saku has probably done a few CT scans and X rays to determine the injury. Surgery may be performed for more severe fractures, or if eye has damage. Surgery also may be performed immediately, or up to several days after the incident. Injury to the eye also can only be determined if saku is having Double vison , pain directly in the eye, decreased movement and so forth.

Lets hope there is only deep tissue bruising!

 

Key Lime wrote:

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Good news...after a battery of exams, Saku's injury is not as bad as we thought. There is no fracture to the orbital bone. He does have a bad cut just below his eye. ..Sources say he  may make a come back at the tail end of this series with the Canes.

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 Lets hope this good news motivates the guys to play strong to give Saks a chance to join them for this series end or next round.