Everyone has been well aware of how grueling a return Tyler Seguin faced after having significant damage in his hip. After all, he was limited to just three games in the 2020-21 season. What few realized, however, was just how close he was to stepping away from the game for good.
Seguin, 30, was viewed as a star player for several years as a member of the Dallas Stars. However, a serious hip injury sustained during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs took away from that in a major way. Though he managed to battle through the injury for the entirety of the postseason, he was forced to undergo surgery immediately after, which limited him to just three games in 2020-21. While sitting at home watching his teammates play that year, he truly thought his career may be finished.
“I looked over at my friend and said, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to play anymore,’” Seguin said to Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com. “’My career might be over. This might be it.’ I just didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
Despite the frustrations and hardship, Seguin continued to grind through gruelling training and was able to play all but one game in 2021-22. That said, his statistical output of 24 goals and 49 points was far below what we had seen from him in the past, and was very disappointing for a player with a $9.85 million cap hit. That said, he remained confident that he would be able to produce more moving forward, and while early into the 2022-23 campaign, he is doing just that.
Through the Stars first five games of the season, Seguin has two goals and five points. He is playing a major role in his teams 4-1-0 start, and according to himself feels the best he has in years. While there is still plenty of season to go, it looks as though he may truly be back to his star level form.
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