Martin Fehervary Discusses Injury And Mid-Season Switch From Offensive Role to Defensive Role On Blueline
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary has been sitting idle for the last seven games as he rehabs an injury he sustained against the Calgary Flames on December 4. Not much was publicly reported as to the severity of the injury ⊠Continue reading â
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary has been sitting idle for the last seven games as he rehabs an injury he sustained against the Calgary Flames on December 4. Not much was publicly reported as to the severity of the injury as the Capitals placed Fehervary on the injured reserve list the following day.
Hereâs the hit on Martin Fehervary by Flames winger Milan Lucic in the second period. Fehervary left the ice immediately after and didnât return. pic.twitter.com/7sXtoojK7n
â Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) December 4, 2022
âIâm getting myself together, but I canât say exactly when Iâll be back yet. The problem is the left hand, but I donât want to specify. Itâs not a serious injury, I didnât have to have an operation,â the defenseman told LiveSport.cz. âAnyway, itâs unpleasant and weâll see how long Iâll recover and when Iâll start training with the team.â
Itâs been a challenging start to the 2022-23 season for the 23 year-old blueliner, as Fehervaryâs role on the team has shifted significantly since the start of training camp. Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette moved Fehervary from the first defensive pairing, where he played with John Carlson and provided more of an offensive role, to the second pairing with Nick Jensen, where he is looked to provide more of a shutdown defenseman role.
âThe team didnât start well, the coaches needed to make some changes and put us together with Jensen to guard the best forwards,â said Fehervary. âI played against the biggest stars, which was a big challenge for me. On the other hand, itâs nice that the coach believes in me. I donât care where I play. Carlson is played differently, definitely more offensively. Jensen is a great defensive hard worker with whom I understand.â
FehĂ©rvĂĄry mentioned before the season that one of his goals was to generate more scoring, but that has yet to fully materialize. Heâs cored just twice in 26 games and has just four points. As he admits, one of the reasons is that he has to shoot more often.
âI didnât shoot much. I told myself that I have to change it. I started shooting more and a few games later I scored a goal. I was fine in the others and then the injury came. It took me a bit off the pace, but Iâm confident that when I come back Iâll build on my performances from the last few weeks.â
In Fairness to Fehervary, the switch from the top-pair scoring role to the second pairing defensive role was the result of several other important factors. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson showed an offensive upside in the early part of the season and there was a desperate need that developed to find a better shutdown defensive pairing. As a result, Gustafsson and Fehervary switched places on the blueline.
Fehervary made his first appearance with team on Monday morning, skating in a non-contact jersey.
By Jon Sorensen