It’s a big night for the Capitals, as Alex Ovechkin is just four goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record, Ryan Leonard is set to make his NHL debut in tonight’s game in Boston…and Craig Laughlin is back in the booth, returning Sunday not even two months after having open heart surgery!
Things just wouldn’t feel the same without Locker and Joe B in the booth next to John Walton and Ken Sabourin, and when he joined Grant & Danny Tuesday from Beantown, Locker was thankful for all the support he got while he was on IR.
So, what exacfly happened that cost Locker almost two months of time?
It was a lengthy road to recovery, but as he said, Locker had his sights set on returning by April 1, and here he is, back as the Caps pump down their final playoff push.
“I was probably in surgery for about five hours, and then I started to recover; I got up and only took one pain pill, because they broke my chest to open me up, but now it’s been seven weeks," Laughlin said. “I'm on the bike, I'm doing heart rehab three days a week, I’m starting to do things I missed doing. I’m walking a lot, and I feel better right now, and it’s only gonna get better. I still get fatigued a little bit because when they do the surgery, it really affects all parts of your body because they shut down the heart, so you have to restart, and I had a couple of flare-ups during the course of my recovery, but mentally and physically, I am in an unbelievably great place. It was very challenging, but I’m very confident in what was done and I’m ready to go. I've had wonderful support throughout the NHL, the team, the ownership group, everything.”
Listen to Laughlin’s entire visit with Grant & Danny, which went into Ryan Leonard's NHL debut, Ovi's Chase for 895, and much more, up above!