The New York Islanders were more than pleased to see former Ottawa Senators defenceman Mike Reilly back skating again on Saturday morning. Reilly, who’s been through a lot in the past month and a half, threw on the blades to skate with Isles’ development coach Dennis Seidenberg.
According to a post from Stefan Rosner from The Hockey News’ New York Islanders’ site, Reilly suffered a concussion against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 1. That development was concerning enough, but according to Rosner, at some point during Reilly’s evaluation, doctors discovered a heart issue.
So the 31-year-old defenceman had to undergo a heart procedure.
Prior to the surgery, Islanders’ GM Lou Lamoriello told Rosner that the condition was something the player was born with but Reilly had no idea it existed. He’d be able to return to regular NHL action, but it might be several months.
As a result, no one was expecting to see Reilly skating anytime soon, but there he was on Saturday morning.
Reilly played parts of two seasons in Ottawa, scoring 31 points in 70 games. He was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in January 2020 for former CCHL scoring star Andy Sturtz and a fifth-rounder.
A year and a half later, Reilly was moved to the Boston Bruins at the deadline for a 2022 third-rounder. That pick turned out to be defence prospect Tomas Hamara, who’s currently a point-per-game player with Michael Andlauer’s Brantford Bulldogs this season.
This is one of those stories that’s bigger than hockey. It’s great to see Mike Reilly already back on the path to not only full health, but to resuming his NHL career as well.
Read Stefan Rosner’s story at our New York Islanders’ site.
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