Micheal Ferland | #79 | LW

[shazzam]

46 minutes ago, N7Nucks said:

Again, it's not hindsight. There were hundreds of normal ass fans that seen his concussion history and were worried. A professional GM and his staff should have also seen the writing on the wall. 2 year deal would have been fine. Not only was it 4 years but he has a NMC too. Love Benning, but it was a bad contract. Even at the time of the signing I was a little worried but stayed hopeful he could stay healthy. 

UFA has not been friendly to Benning. Looking at our roster, you can see why he made such a gamble on Ferland. All it takes is 1 hit for any player really.

 

At least the NMC will expire before the expansion draft.

[JeremyCuddles]

1 minute ago, -AJ- said:

There were definitely some comments about it, but had averaged 73.75 games per season prior to signing in Vancouver, missing only about 8 games per year. Played 14 games this year was a whole new level.

Yeah, but you gotta imagine after the 3rd concussion the levy was gonna break on his health. There was a reason nobody really touched him in Free Agency. The term and the NMC make little sense given the market for him seemed non existent at the time, likely due to his concussion history. I love Benning, I defend a lot of his moves. This signing was pretty bad and it was super high risk at the time of signing. It's a shame too. I really hoped he could be healthy and help this team. Coulda used him against Vegas instead of Rooster.

[kloubek]

6 hours ago, N7Nucks said:

There was a reason nobody really touched him in Free Agency.

Source?

[mll]

On 9/7/2020 at 4:29 AM, kloubek said:

Source?

There was actually a lot of interest but teams were not necessarily comfortable offering long term.

 

On 11/13/2019 at 1:24 AM, -Vintage Canuck- said:

Elliotte Friedman on Micheal Ferland:

 

“There was a lot of interest in Ferland. His camp made a pretty smart play and that was holding until they got a 4th year. Lots of teams were weighing it, but Canucks made the plunge. I don’t believe for a second he was damaged goods, but everyone understood the risk.”

[mll]

.

Edited September 11, 2020 by mll

[kloubek]

18 hours ago, mll said:

There was actually a lot of interest but teams were not necessarily comfortable offering long term.

 

Yeah, thats what I thought.

[Slegr]

I wonder if a gentleman’s handshake is made between Ferland and Canucks management at this point about him living on Robidas Island from here on in to provide some certainty on the cap situation and in terms of Ferland’s health.

[DownUndaCanuck]

I worry it sounds like Ferland wants to give next season a go. 3.5M tied up in a cap this off season a lot considering he's not technically on LTIR right now, and we could have easily squeezed Toffoli in with that money, buy Ferland really doesn't want to give up.

 

If he has a relapse right away after an off season you've got to think that he has to retire. The first few relapses were bad enough, but if he keeps pushing it then he's just being stupid. Obviously we could use his 40 points and hitting, but I don't think he's that player anymore.

 

Without his 3.5M we'd still have 7.5M in cap

 Jake for 2.5M, Gaudette for 1.5M, Leivo in there for a similar amount and we could still go and sign an extra defenceman.

[kloubek]

I think he CAN still be that player. He obviously wants to be, and I think he understands that he isn't useful unless he plays his style of game.

 

I believe we see him back on opening night, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for him that he finally remains healthy. 

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

 

A post I found on twitter from 2 weeks ago basically. 

 

Looks like Ferland is doing well.  Hope that he has seen some specialists to help with his post-concussion symptoms particularly working on eye tracking and fast movements.  I remember vividly Sidney Crosby doing lots of training around this after his last major concussion, since then he hadn't experienced any symptoms.

 

I really hope he is healthy, a little scared of him coming back again but if he is fully recovered, than I am excited to see what a healthy Ferly can do.

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

 

[Slegr]

7 hours ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

 

This guy has no quit. 
I’m not sure if I’m in favour of it at this point. After all the comeback attempts last season, it ended up hurting the team a bit because he’d do one shift and then miss the rest of the game each time it seemed. 
I love the idea of a healthy Ferland, but my common sense is telling me it would just be a matter of time before he just vanishes with symptoms again. If I was him, I’d look at prioritizing my health and staying on Long term injury status.

[ruilin96]

19 hours ago, Slegr said:

This guy has no quit. 
I’m not sure if I’m in favour of it at this point. After all the comeback attempts last season, it ended up hurting the team a bit because he’d do one shift and then miss the rest of the game each time it seemed. 
I love the idea of a healthy Ferland, but my common sense is telling me it would just be a matter of time before he just vanishes with symptoms again. If I was him, I’d look at prioritizing my health and staying on Long term injury status.

If he does come back, he should not engage in meaningless fights/scraps. Stay away from those for atleast the first 20+ games. He needs to get into game rhythm before trying to do all that. He is good good hands and he can score 15-20 goals. He should focus on play that aspect of the game in his return to play.

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/patrick-johnston-micheal-ferlands-canucks-future-is-up-in-the-air?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1603238658

 

Quote

Patrick Johnston: Micheal Ferland’s Canucks future is up in the air

The abrasive winger is facing a decision that will likely see head confronting heart

Author of the article:

Patrick Johnston

Publishing date:

Oct 20, 2020  •  Last Updated 1 hour ago  •  4 minute read

Micheal Ferland, signed as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, was brought to Vancouver to supply some muscle and timely scoring. PHOTO BY ANNE-MARIE SORVIN /USA TODAY Sports Files

Micheal Ferland does hope to play hockey again. You can understand why: It’s what he loves most to do and no one wants to see their career end on anything but their own terms.

 

But, quite simply, those in his camp are both hopeful and realistic, his agent Jason Davidson admits.

“His health is the priority,” Davidson said about what he and Ferland are thinking of when looking ahead to training camp for the 2020-21 National Hockey League season, whenever that begins.

 

Yes, Ferland, a winger who signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks in 2019 has been skating at a rink near his home in Brandon, Man., Davidson acknowledged. And yes, Ferland’s feeling good, he added. But.

 

“We’re going to make sure we’re dialled in on whether Micheal is fit to play or not. We can’t keep doing this,” Davidson said, a nod to the fact that Ferland tried three times to make a return to the ice after suffering a concussion in a Canucks game nearly a year ago against the Los Angeles Kings.

First Ferland tried to make a comeback in December, but shut things down in his second game back when issues with his vision and balance — his brain’s vestibular system — emerged.

 

Those issues have been traced back to his October concussion, suffered in a fight with the Kings’ Kyle Clifford.

He tried again in February, but abandoned that attempt inside the first period of his first game with the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets, the Canucks’ primary minor-league affiliate.

Once again, his vision and balance were a problem. Everything, he would later say, was fine in practice, in daily life, but the speed of the game would cause issues.

Micheal Ferland suffered a concussion in an Oct. 30, 2019 bout with Kyle Clifford. PHOTO BY GARY A. VASQUEZ /USA TODAY Sports files

He was shut down for the season, but the door was left open for a future return.

And then the pandemic arrived. All of hockey shut down. No one could skate or even work out. Like his teammates, Ferland and his family eventually went back to Brandon to be closer to family.

The enforced rest period, he said in July, seemed to make a difference and when the NHL returned to action in July, Ferland was back at it, feeling confident.

 

And then his return to play lasted less than two games, again.

 

He returned home to Brandon after that.

 

Davidson said that life seems good for his client back at home.

“He’s enjoying some hunting,” he said. “He sent me some videos of his oldest daughter Brynlee. She’s started her Timbits hockey.”

“With everything he’s gone through, with the unanswered, I think that was a real bright spot for him to see her out on the ice,” he added. “With such an upside-down year … in another year he might not be able to be there to see that.”

The NHL’s current hoped for restart date is Jan. 1, though many observers have a hard time seeing that being an actual launching point. No matter what, both Davidson and Canucks general manager Jim Benning say they will have to discuss Ferland’s health.

“That’s a conversation I know I’m going to have with Jim,” he said. “I guess we’ll see what makes the most sense for Micheal and the Canucks.”

 

If Ferland isn’t able to play because of post-concussion symptoms, the Canucks can put him on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), which would take most of his $3.5-million salary cap hit out of the equation.

“We’ll have to see how things go,” Benning said of his expectations of Ferland’s status come training camp, committing to nothing.

 

Cap questions

While team and agent both say a discussion is pending on how the abrasive winger’s brain health will affect his future in hockey, looking at Benning’s roster moves so far this off-season suggest that the decision on Ferland’s roster status for 2020-21 may have already been made.

 

After Monday’s signing of Jayce Hawryluk — another of Davidson’s clients, by the way — and the re-signing of Adam Gaudette, the Canucks have just about run out of salary cap space for the 2020-21 season. They still have to sign Jake Virtanen, likely for just shy of $3 million.

Benning and his staff will have to make a few roster-juggling moves to get cap compliant, but putting Ferland’s $3.5-million cap hit on LTIR would go a long way to helping create further roster flexibility.

 

Coupled with a demotion, again, of Sven Baertschi to the minors, Benning could even sign another player, given he’d then have $1 million in cap space.

Who knows maybe give it a year, let his brain settle, let him enjoy his family, kids, and being healthy.  Give him time to fully recover, train, and if he is ready to play for the following season, give it a try.  Spend time with the specialists, do some rapid eye movement training, allow time to strengthen back up his vestibular system again.  im surprised we haven't heard of him going to vestibular and post concussion therapy (maybe he has, but surprised it hasn't been explained or mentioned)

 

Quote

Vestibular rehabilitation is a type of therapy that focuses on improving the relationship between the inner ear, brain, eyes, muscles and nerves. This therapy is typically used with post-concussion patients here at Nationwide Children’s Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy.

Even Sidney Crosby's recovery involved eye movement and rehabilitation of his vestibular system which has now created a new post-concussion therapy

https://broadviewhealthcentre.com/sidney-crosby-treatment/

 

 

I love Ferly, loved his style of game.  Really hope he is fully healthy before he tries it again or if he ever does decide to try again.

[Nuck1991]

there is nothing more that anyone in hockey world want for this guy is to get better and play hockey.

I pray to god he gets fully healthy and play another 10 seasons in canuck uniform

[N4ZZY]

I mean, if Ferland is healthy enough to play, that would be like signing a Free Agent, isn't it? 

 

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Would be huge if he came back. Just the type of player we need. 
 

Should be cautious with it like Sid was. See a bunch of specialists. Do a bunch of tests. 

[JM_]

7 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Would be huge if he came back. Just the type of player we need. 
 

Should be cautious with it like Sid was. See a bunch of specialists. Do a bunch of tests. 

hard to say if he has the kind of network Sid had to help him though all this. it would be great to see him back but man I don't want to see him get hurt permanently. 

 

The whole LTIR thing isn't a great option for the team either, that has its own cap consequences too.

 

I suspect we'll see him make another go of it whenever camp begins again. 

[Junkyard Dog]

1 minute ago, Robert Long said:

hard to say if he has the kind of network Sid had to help him though all this. it would be great to see him back but man I don't want to see him get hurt permanently. 

 

The whole LTIR thing isn't a great option for the team either, that has its own cap consequences too.

 

I suspect we'll see him make another go of it whenever camp begins again. 

As a hockey player in the NHL he probably has much more of a network of avenues to go through compared to you or I.  He has the Canucks as a resource since he is a Canucks asset and the money to seek out specialists to get more than one opinion. 

 

He will be able to draw a good conclusion of whether or not he should play and the roadmap it would take if so. 
 

As mentioned above Crosby’s recovery created new methods that would be worth a look. 

[skategal]

12 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

As a hockey player in the NHL he probably has much more of a network of avenues to go through compared to you or I.  He has the Canucks as a resource since he is a Canucks asset and the money to seek out specialists to get more than one opinion. 

 

He will be able to draw a good conclusion of whether or not he should play and the roadmap it would take if so. 
 

As mentioned above Crosby’s recovery created new methods that would be worth a look. 

I'd like to think he's able to reach out to Crosby's camp either directly or through the NHLPA or his agent to seek out advice/recommendations if there is anything he hasn't already tried.  The NHL community is pretty small and pretty tight, the guys all work out together and help each other if possible.