Defenseman Alexander Edler has been declared fit by the Canucks' medical staff, but he may never be 100 per cent after injuring his back caused by a bulging disc, reports the Vancouver Sun.
Edler has spent three months rehabilitating his back injury, and even though he's now able to return to the ice, he might never be the player he once was.
"You know what? I would much, much rather be healthy and not getting paid," Edler told the Sun, referring to still being paid during the lockout as a result of being injured. "That's the most important. It's absolutely terrible to not be able to be out there with the guys because I'm hurt. I would give back all my paychecks if I could have been 100 per cent healthy."
According to the Sun, Edler has received $1.16 million of his $3.25 million annual salary. His teammate Jason Garrison has also been medically cleared after nursing a groin injury and was paid about a third of his $2.5 million salary.
"Any injury you have that's coming back, you get a little extra cautious," Edler said. "But we've got great doctors here and we've been talking a lot. Obviously, it's been very frustrating. But you've got to trust the doctors that it's going to heal, probably not to 100 per cent. But I wasn't 100 per cent last year, either, and I played all 82 games."
