Sometimes you just can't be concerned with roster moves or line combos. Sometimes things happen to people you don't even know personally, but care about very much nonetheless. Sometimes there are things more important in life than hockey.

I don't want to get overly dramatic here, because so far all indications are that Jed Ortmeyer's health will be fine, but his condition is serious enough to warrant concern. And while I hope he makes a full recovery from his recently diagnosed pulmonary embolism, I have serious questions as to whether or not he will be able to resume his career. One of the treatments for this illness is a sustained cycle of prescription blood thinners. A person is not able to engage in physical activity that involves violent contact (such as professional hockey) while taking blood thinners, as they could potentially bleed to death from a relatively minor injury.

His agent did say, however, that Jed hoped to be ready to participate in the Rangers training camp next month, but I am not so sure.

Anyway, Jed is all heart, and if he works as hard at getting better as he does on the ice, he may be back sooner than we think. He has always been one of the hardest working players in the sport, and I have always joked that he has the least hockey talent of anyone in the league, yet he has played a valuable role on this team for a few years now.

You can read about the situation in all the locals: The Post, the News, the Journal News, and Newsday.

The Queen Margaret Hurley tells us how sad she is about Jed's condition in a guest piece over at Rodent's.

I'm not going to worry about how this affects the Rangers' roster until we get some solid news on how long Jed will be out. It's really not that important anyway. What matters is that he gets healthy as soon as possible. We wish him the best.

HDH

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