Bowen Byram’s 'Upper-Body' Injury Tag Is a Familiar Headache for the Blackhawks
Daily Faceoff reported Byram is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The NHL’s favorite medical mystery has struck again. The announced that defenseman Bowen Byram is officially day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Daily Faceoff.
In hockey terms, "upper-body injury" is a catch-all diagnosis that could mean anything from a bruised collarbone to a missing limb. But for Byram, this designation carries a lot more weight than it does for the average player.
Byram is already slated to miss Thursday night's home clash against the . That is a tough blow for a squad that just managed to scrape together a 5-3 win over the after getting bullied by the and earlier in the week.
The real concern here is the history. Anyone who watched Byram during his time with the knows his medical chart reads like a stunt double's diary. He has a well-documented history of concussions and upper-body ailments that have repeatedly derailed his undeniable talent.
When a guy with that specific track record gets slapped with the day-to-day label, you hold your breath. It is the kind of news that makes fantasy managers instantly scramble to the waiver wire and forces bettors to seriously re-evaluate 's defensive depth.
Without Byram eating up heavy minutes on the blue line, the Blackhawks are going to have to shuffle their pairings against a heavy roster. Missing a top-four defenseman is bad enough, but doing it against a team that loves to cycle the puck is how you end up spending 40 minutes trapped in your own zone.
We will see if the day-to-day tag actually means he is close to returning, or if it is just the front office buying time. With the Dallas Stars rolling into the United Center on Saturday, needs all the healthy bodies it can get before the weekend turns into a track meet.