Joffrey Lupul knows he must find a way to stay healthy

Joffrey Lupul has had his share of injuries. You name it he’s suffered it.

Broken forearm? Check. Sprained ankle? You bet. Concussions, abdominal strain and of course a couple of back surgeries are also part of the injury history for Lupul.

So when the Maple Leafs forward suffered back spasms the day before on-ice activities were to start at training camp, the Leafs alternate captain decided to wait it out before joining his teammates.

“I felt great all summer,” said Lupul, after skating for an hour during practice on Wednesday. “I haven’t had any issues. It hasn’t been something that’s been bothering me all summer. It just kind of came one day.”

Blame Leafs skating coach Barb Underhill if you must. She had a couple of the Leafs on the ice before training camp for some work and that’s when Lupul starting feeling his back act up.

“I had some tightness in there and ended up going into spasm which is a painful thing for a couple of days,” said Lupul.

Lupul has had his share of injuries during his NHL career. But his most serious ailment occurred in 2009 when he suffered back spasms. That led to a pair of back surgeries. The second one led to him developing a blood infection that almost threatened his career.

“It was a bit of a concern because I have a history with the lower back,” said Lupul. “I believe since the surgery this is the first time I’ve missed time with it (back spasms). There is still plenty of time until opening day, so I’m feeling confident.”

Next week, Lupul turns 30 years-old – the prime of his career. He played just 16 games last season, and wants to have a bigger role on the Leafs this year. For that to happen, he must stay healthy.

So I asked him if he will change the way he plays the game in an effort to cut prevent injuries?

“No, not really,” Lupul told me. “Obviously you want to stay healthy but you have to stick with what got you there and what makes you successful. It would be a mistake not to go in front of the net, or can’t get in the way of pucks or anything like that. I’m just hoping to have a little more luck.”

His coach, Randy Carlyle, had this response when I asked him the same question.

“I think there’s probably some merit to that,” said the head Coach. “He has to pick and choose a little bit more cautiously in some situations. I think what happened with him was more the fact that he was frustrated with his injuries and then trying to come back and make an impact right away.”

“I feel like I’ve improved every year since I’ve been here,” said Lupul. “I’ve put in a lot of work this summer and different aspects of my game. I would expect to be a better player than I was last year. I don’t know if it will translate exactly to the stats sheet or whatever, but I’m constantly trying to improve and add elements to my game.”

In his last 82 regular season games, Joffrey Lupul has scored 36 goals. But it took him 2 NHL seasons (the 82 game season and the 48 game season of the lock-out shortened season) to reach that mark. He has missed 52 games over the course of those campaigns.

Lupul expects more from himself. In order to do that, he needs to spend more time playing and less time on the trainer’s table.

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Below is a list of injuries Joffrey Lupul has suffered since 2008.

Lupul has missed time for the following ailments [from most recent to 2008]:

- concussion (5 games)
- forearm (25 games)
- separated shoulder (16 games)
- back surgery #1 (52 games)
- back surgery #2 (28 games)
- back (7 games)
- abdominal strain (3 games)
- sprained right ankle (12 games)
- concussion (14 games)

Since Lupul entered the NHL in the 2003-04 season, he has averaged only 64 regular season games [**this number does NOT include last year's lockout shortened season - last year Lupul played in only 16 of the Leafs 48 regular season games]