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Mike Fisher slowly recovering from offseason surgery, could be in doubt for season opener

Nashville Predators v Vancouver Canucks - Game One

VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 28: Mike Fisher #12 of the Nashville Predators skates with the puck during Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 28, 2011 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

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It’s an exciting season in the Hockey Tonk this year as the Predators look to build on their best postseason in franchise history. The organization had noticeable momentum last season—on the ice, in the stands, and around town. The big question now: what will the Predators do for an encore?

The big story of the offseason was undoubtedly Shea Weber and his contract negotiations. But another story that flew under the radar hasn’t worked out quite as well: Mike Fisher’s shoulder. The mid-season acquisition underwent offseason shoulder surgery in May and was supposed to be ready for training camp. Well, he was at training camp—just not participating in anything too intensive.

Josh Cooper from The Tennessean caught up with Fisher to shed a little light on the recovery process:

“Still not ready for contact or anything. But I am skating and starting to shoot a bit, and it’s coming. I’m just really not sure as far as timetable. I just have to be patient.”

Asked if there is any fear that he won’t be ready for the start of the season, Fisher displayed some uncertainty.

“Not sure to be honest,” he said. “We’ll see if I can slip into training camp, get strong and feel good. But it’s coming up quick. It has been a long haul so far, so we’ll see.”


The last part of Fisher’s comments doesn’t sound very encouraging. The problem with Fisher missing any regular season games is two-fold. First and foremost, nobody in the Western Conference is in the position to waste away points in the beginning of the season. Each team will be competing to get off to a good start and create a little room between themselves and the 9th seed. Like everyone else, the Preds would like to stockpile as many wins in October in case they run into problems later in the season.

Also, it wouldn’t hurt attendance in football country if the Predators capitalized on the momentum they created last postseason.

Secondly, Fisher proved to be an important player for Nashville in his 27 games with the organization. He may have only scored 5 goals and 12 points in his short stint with the Preds, but it was his importance to the rest of the team that made him so valuable. Guys like David Legwand were put into positions to succeed while Fisher and his linemates faced the opponents’ top defensive pairings. In turn, Legwand was freed up to play a more offensive role. He may not be a #1 center option, but he proved at the end of the season that he’s a pretty good alternative on the second line.

Those are the things won’t show up on Fisher’s stat sheet.

The next step is watching how Fisher recovers throughout training camp and the preseason. As he alluded to in his comments, once he recovers and is cleared for contact, he’ll still have to work himself into game shape. Sadly, those are the things that players usually do during the preseason. Veteran players like Fisher are certainly capable of missing a few weeks before the season starts—but everyone involved would like him to get a little contact in before the games start to count.