Penguins’ Pascal Dupuis is Out

(photo: Wikipedia via Pens Through My Lens)

There is a new health issue within the Pittsburgh Penguins. Forward Pascal Dupuis has found out that he has a blood clot in one of his lungs and the bare minimum time he will be gone is six months. The Pens veteran was first complaining about a pain in his chest and the clot was officially discovered on Monday.

A release from the team’s physician explains his overall health and future. “Pascal had a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his lung,” Dr. Dharmesh Vyas said. “In medical terms, that is a deep vein thrombosis resulting in a pulmonary embolism. This is the second such incident that we know of for Pascal. The treatment is at least six months of blood thinners, during which time he will not be able to play hockey. Other than that, his condition is stable.”

This is not the first time suffering a blood clot for Dupuis. He missed most of last season because of one. Back in January, he was put on blood thinners for a clot that followed surgery to fix an ACL injury. Dupuis has not played since Saturday and most likely will not for a while unless a miracle happens. Because this is such a life threatening situation, he is a lot better off taking care of it now than trying to play through something of that nature.

The past year has not been too easy health wise for the Penguins. Last year, defenseman Kris Letang missed time on the ice due to suffering a stroke. Former goalie Tomas Vokoun also suffered a blood clot in his pelvis and had to go through surgery and put him out of the game. Not even a month ago yet, defenseman Olli Maatta missed two weeks due to having a cancerous tumor removed from his thyroid.

Bad timing and luck seems to be circulating around the Pens’ health but it will just make them even stronger than before. Even though hockey is their way of life and the way they make a living, players’ health should always be the number one priority to them and all of the staff. Without good health, there would be no games.