Arizona Coyotes star winger Clayton Keller went down with a gruesome-looking knee injury during Wednesday night's clash with the San Jose Sharks. Keller reached out to his teammates and fans via Twitter on Thursday to thank them for the support they showed him, while also revealing the conclusion we'd all already come to. Keller announced that his season would be cut short as a result of the injury, declaring he'd be back better than ever in 2022-23.

Any hopes that Keller would be able to return this season were nixed by the 23-year-old's comments, but the fact he's claiming he'll be ready for the season opener in 2022 is a good sign. Of course, rushing him back this year would make no sense for the lowly Coyotes, who are tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the title of worst team in the NHL at 47 points each.

After a quick rush into the attacking zone on Wednesday night, Keller got tangled with an opposing defender and crashed hard into the wall, appearing to make contact with his knee first. He went down in pain and was subsequently stretchered off the ice and taken to the hospital for further testing.

The loss of Keller is a crippling blow for Coyotes fans, as he's been the team's key offensive contributor this season. On the year, the 23-year-old has contributed 63 points in 65 games, scoring a career-high 28 goals and adding 35 assists. His 63 points are 16 more than any other player on the team, and he's the only Coyotes player with more than 21 goals on the season.