Oskar Lindblm is coming to Toronto with the Flyers. But how likely is it that he actually plays in the playoffs?
Despite currently being in Sweden, Oskar Lindblom will be making the trip to Toronto when the Flyers depart on Sunday. It’s a huge milestone for Lindblom after his diagnosis in December.
He’s gone through the surgery and the treatments. Finishing up in July, he was deemed to be without evidence of cancer at that time. He has also been able to even skate, briefly that is.
Lindblom surprised everyone when he was on the ice during Phase 2. He skated with a few of his Flyers teammates during the session. Other than that, he hasn’t been able to do much more.
There was even a chance he wasn’t going to be able to go back to Sweden. But after that was cleared, he went to surprise his girlfriend and family with his arrival. Turns out he won’t be there long, though.
Alain Vigneault confirmed after Thursday’s practice that Lindblom will indeed be traveling with the team to Toronto. After signing him to an extension on Wednesday, Chuck Fletcher did not rule anything out in regards to him practicing or even playing.
"“Absolutely. I don’t know what’s out of the question. I wouldn’t certainly put any limits on Oskar. We’ll obviously do everything that we can to protect him. He’s looking forward to restarting his life and his career. Whatever that means, we’ll find out. We’ll work very closely with his medical team and our medical team. We’ll make the right decisions for him.”"
So one thing is out of the way. Now comes what he’ll actually be doing when he comes to Toronto. The implication is that they hope he will be able to participate when the time comes.
But is that smart when he hasn’t taken part in a full practice or even played a game since December? Well, probably not. Especially when he just finished treatments a few weeks ago.
The doctors obviously feel it is okay for him to travel the way he has been. But going from Philadelphia, to Sweden, and now to Toronto has to be a lot of wear and tear on his still recovering body.
And not to mention all of this is happening in the middle of a pandemic. Lindblom falls under the at-risk category due to his diagnosis. Even if he is free of cancer at this time, his immune system is still not where it needs to be.
Maybe things will be better when all teams make it into the bubble. Things have trended in the right direction in regards to testing. And that’s come before teams have left their home buildings. Everyone will head to either Toronto or Edmonton on Sunday.
Exhibition games will begin next week with the round-robin and play-in series coming right after. And then the playoffs officially begin.
At most, Lindblom should practice with the team while they’re attempting to make a run. Anything else would be a huge risk to his health. Pandemic aside, he hasn’t played in months. Jumping right into the playoffs isn’t the way to go when he hasn’t taken had any kind of action.
Having him around the team will be a huge boost for both him and the Flyers as well. Even if he is just there for support, that should be good enough as he tries to get back to as normal as a life as he can.