Marc Methot’s disappointing year got worse on Tuesday, as he was ruled out of playing for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships due to a rumored back injury.
Per the Ottawa Sun’s sources, Methot tried to play through the ailment during mini-camp but was unable to keep going, and had been sent back to Ottawa for further evaluation. The sources noted the injury wasn’t believed to be serious.
Methot, 28, looked to be poised for a big year with the Sens when he made the Canadian Olympic orientation camp last August, one of just 17 NHL defensemen invited. That invite came on the heels of an impressive lockout-shortened ’13 campaign, when he scored 11 points in 47 games while averaging 22:14 TOI per night, carrying an extra workload while Erik Karlsson was out with a lacerated Achilles.
But nothing seemed to go right for Methot this season.
He struggled at times and, despite scoring a career-high six goals and 23 assists, was made a healthy scratch on a couple of occasions. Ottawa also missed the postseason for the first time since 2011.