The injury news did not get better for Filip Hallander or the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday.
The team announced via social media that doctors diagnosed Hallander with a blood clot. His injury was originally termed a lower-body injury, and he was slated to be out day-to-day, but now he will miss at least three months.
“I feel awful. Filip is off to a really good start here, and you’ve got the Sweden trip coming up … Yesterday we got that news, and it’s, yeah, it’s terrible,” said coach Dan Muse. “At the same time, when something like this comes up, this goes way beyond hockey. This is about the person. And I’m just very thankful, we’re all very thankful and grateful that the medical staff here was able to figure this out as quickly as they did.”
Hallander, 25, restarted his NHL dreams this season after signing with the Penguins following playing the last two seasons in the Swedish league. The Penguins originally drafted him in 2018, but he played only three NHL games (one in 2021-22, and two in 2022-23).
“No, this isn’t something that is life-threatening (but) it’s going to be a while. It’s going to be at least three months,” Muse said.
Hallander was also traded twice. First, the team traded his rights while he was still playing in Sweden to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of acquiring Kasperi Kapanen following the 2020 bubble playoffs, and then the Penguins reacquired him in the Jared McCann trade before the 2021 Expansion Draft.
Hallander made the Penguins out of training camp and played in 13 of the first 14 games, scoring one goal and registering three assists before the injury.
Hallander will rehab with UPMC and the Pittsburgh Penguins doctors in Pittsburgh.
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