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Injuries costing Canucks (literally) as lockout drags on

Edler2

Canucks GM Mike Gillis appeared on Vancouver’s TEAM 1040 today and provided a health update for a number of players -- an update that also served as a financial statement.

According to Gillis, Alex Edler (back) and Jason Garrison (groin) are with Ryan Kesler (shoulder) on the list of injured Canucks. And because all three were injured prior to the start of the lockout, all three are collecting paychecks.

The trio combines for $10.75 million in salary -- a sizable chunk of change given, you know, there’s no hockey being played right now.

As for the injuries themselves:

-- Edler has a bulging disc in his back, something diagnosed over the summer but, according to Gillis, not a long-term concern. It should be noted that Edler had microdiscectomy surgery -- a procedure where a portion of the intervetebral disc is removed -- in Jan. 2011, and missed 31 games as a result.

-- Garrison has a groin strain, described as a “nagging injury” that hasn’t gone away during the offseason. Like Edler, Garrison has a history with his ailment -- he missed five regular-season and three playoff games last year for the Panthers with a groin issue.

(Note: Garrison received a $3 million signing bonus for this season from Vancouver, so he’s laughing. But not too hard, because he has a groin injury.)

-- Kesler underwent shoulder surgery in May and wrist surgery in June, and recently said he’s “pretty far behind” in his recovery.

The Canucks are not alone in footing big salaries of injured players. The Rangers are still shelling out for Marian Gaborik (shoulder, $7.5 million), the Flyers for Chris Pronger (concussion, $7.2 million) and the Bruins for Marc Savard (concussion, $6.5 million.)