The Flyers announced on Friday afternoon that winger Oskar Lindblom is expected to miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of cancer.
We’re all fighting with @oskarlindblom. pic.twitter.com/8ceHDn4OCk
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 13, 2019
Lindblom didn’t travel with the Flyers on their current road trip and as such missed this past Wednesday’s game against Colorado (after missing practice on Monday due to what was called a maintenance day), but he did practice with the team on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The timeline that led to the diagnosis here is not known to the public as of yet.
At every possible level, this is absolutely devastating news. Lindblom — who has broken out this year, and was tied for the team lead in goals this season entering today — is just 23 years old and has his whole life ahead of him. It is tough to imagine much worse news than this.
We will not attempt to play WebMD here and try to get into the long-term outlook of what this means for Lindblom’s life or career, as that would be irresponsible in the moment without knowing much more than we currently do. And we will, at some point, circle around to the hockey implications of this. For now, though, how this affects the Flyers as a team on the ice is extremely and entirely secondary to the well-being of not just a talented young player but a really good guy.
Our thoughts are with Oskar Lindblom and our hopes are that he has the best help and resources out there available to him en route to a quick and full recovery.
An earlier version of this article said that Lindblom had traveled with the team on its current road trip. Lindblom did practice with the team on Tuesday, but that was in Philadelphia before they left for Colorado, and The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor confirmed that Lindblom did not make the trip with the team.
