Clayton Keller is out for the season after he was taken from the Arizona Coyotes game on a stretcher because of a leg injury sustained in the third period against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
The forward was injured with 5:15 remaining after falling and hitting the end boards legs first. He was trying to get off a shot while being defended by Nicolas Meloche.
“(I) want to thank my teammates, the fans and medical personnel for the love and support last night!” Keller said in a tweet Thursday. “Unfortunately the season’s over for me, but I’m resting comfortably at the hospital in good spirits. I will be back better than ever for (Day One) next season!”
Keller was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
“We know it will be long term, but he will recover,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “We’re all sad not just with him getting hurt but being in pain like that. … He’s the heart and soul of our team.”
Tourigny said several teammates spoke to Keller before he left for the hospital.
“You could see guys were in shock,” Tourigny said. “They were lining up (in the X-ray room) just to touch him, just to tell him that we’re here for you.
“I don’t have words. We’re all in shock.”
The game was delayed eight minutes while Keller received medical attention. He gave a thumbs-up as he was leaving the ice.
“When their best player goes down, that’s tough to recover from if you’re the team that it happens to,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “It was an eerie few minutes, watching them bring the stretcher out. You never want to see that.”
Arizona scored twice after the injury for a 5-2 win.
Keller leads the Coyotes with 63 points (28 goals, 35 assists) in 66 games.
“‘Kells’ is a [heck] of a competitor, he takes a lot of pride in [preparing] daily, and he’s the heart and soul of our team,” Tourigny said. “It’s tough to see him in a situation like that, for sure.”
NHL.com independent correspondent Alan Robinson contributed to this report
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