Eric Daze turned 30 in July, an age at which he should be enjoying his most productive seasons in a Blackhawks sweater, scoring more than 30 goals and leading the team that drafted him in 1993 back to the playoffs.
But Daze is trying–again–to come to terms with an ailing back that refuses to cooperate and let him do what he loves.
Instead of attempting to post a big season in the last year of his contract, Daze concedes that he is at the “crossroads” of his career.
“If this doesn’t work out, it’s going to get a lot harder for me to get a job,” Daze said candidly.
Since the end of the 2001-02 season, Daze has played a total of 74 games, including only one this season, the opener Oct. 5.
Two nights later, and one day after skating hard in practice, Daze injured his back in pregame warmups before the Hawks game with the San Jose Sharks.
He has been rehabilitating since, and though he admits the recurring issues with his back have been mentally draining, he is still optimistic about returning to the ice. He said the last couple of weeks he has felt as good as he has in a long time.
“The last month or two I just had to get rid of the pain before I could do more and get stronger,” he said recently after a rehab session at the United Center. “I’m able to push more and do more now because I’m basically pain-free.”
He hasn’t started skating yet, but he points to possibly getting back on the ice shortly after the first of the year. For now, he’s trusting the plan set forth by his doctors.
“I would like to go on [the ice] as quickly as I can,” he said. “We’ll see. I’m just really happy with the way things [are going].”
Since early 2000, Daze has had three surgeries to repair herniated discs in his back. When he went down in warmups Oct. 7, it appeared as though a fourth operation might be needed. Daze said, however, that his doctors have not suggested surgery this time.
Still, for the week or so after this latest injury, Daze did a lot of soul-searching to determine whether he was prepared for another extended rehabilitation.
“I felt at 30 I owed it to myself and the team to give it a shot,” he said. “That’s my intention, not to hold back anything on the ice when I get back–go full blast and full speed, go hard to the net and give it a shot.”
It has been especially frustrating for Daze to watch a more open and offense-friendly NHL, one in which he could thrive on the power play.
“I’m not the best skater, but when I get going, with the rule changes, I think I would be able to do a good job,” he said.
Daze disputed the assessment of Hawks general manager Dale Tallon and coach Trent Yawney that he came to training camp overweight and out of shape, though he did concede he was unable to train as much over the summer as he wanted.
“Some days I didn’t feel as good,” he said, leading to speculation that perhaps his back hasn’t been right for a while and it was just aggravated further Oct. 7.
“But I came to training camp and I wasn’t overweight, I wasn’t fat. I wished I could have done more in the summer.”
Next summer the Hawks have an option on a contract that pays Daze $2.28 million this year.
Depending on what happens the rest of this season, it will be a difficult decision for Tallon regarding Daze.
“I still think I can play in this league, and that’s why I’m here and why I’m going through all this stuff,” Daze said. “I’m giving this my last shot and giving it all I’ve got.”
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rfoltman@tribune.com
