Mason Raymond addressed the media Thursday for the first time since suffering a broken vertebra in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, and the main message was that he is angry.
"Did it piss me off?" Raymond asked rhetorically. "Sure."
The Canucks winger was talking about the hit from Boston Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk. Raymond was in an awkward and vulnerable position, and Boychuk rammed him into the board, rear end first.
No penalty was called, which miffed Raymond because he felt the puck wasn't there, and that the hit came late. Boychuk reached out with a text message in late-July, around the same time Raymond removed a back brace for the first time in six weeks. He said that the hit resulted in the most pain he had ever felt, and he is out indefinitely.
"I haven't set a timeline for anything," he said. "I hope to skate sooner rather than later."
The Canucks announced that Raymond would be sidelined for three to four months back in mid-June, but that seems ambitious at this stage.
"I'm hopeful," Raymond said when asked if the team timeline was still accurate. "I'm having some discomfort with some soft tissue still. Some other things are healing."
Raymond said he wanted to chalk up the injury as "that's hockey," but remains frustrated that he couldn't finish the finals.