Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s long struggles with concussions took a sad turn today.
Michael Russo of The Star Tribune reports that Bouchard is dealing with concussion-like symptoms stemming from a pair of recent hits. On the upside, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher says his symptoms aren’t as serious as he’s had in the past, but the fact he’s having them isn’t a good sign.
Bouchard missed over a season’s worth of action in the past thanks to previous concussions, but returned in December 2010 to play and has stayed concussion free until now. With this latest setback worries over how he’s able to handle the rigors of a hockey season are back in force.
Bouchard joins Guillaume Latendresse on the shelf with concussion-like symptoms for the Wild and losing your second line wingers could be a leading reason why the Wild have lost 11 of their last 12 games. Russo reports that Fletcher is scouting around for help but doesn’t want to blow things up to do so.