NHL Latest News 14th August 2012

Philadelphia Flyers – Announced on Monday (13 Aug) that defenseman Andreas Lilja had surgery on his left hip in mid-July and is likely to be out for up to 4 months (anytime between October and December). This comes on the back of losing fellow defenseman Andrej Meszaros less than a week ago after sustaining an Achilles injury during the offseason. Losing 2 important D-men along with team captain Chris Pronger, who missed most of last season, and suddenly the Flyers have a serious problem on the blue line.

Lilja was quoted in the Swedish newspaper Helsingborgs Dablad as having a degenerative hip condition that has plagued him for a few seasons now. When the pain in the joint didn't subside this offseason, he went for a consultation and surgery was recommended. The 37 year old said that by missing part of the 2012-13 season he could extend his career by a further 5 years.

"I've had problems with my hip for a couple of years and usually the pain goes away during the offseason, but not this year, that's why it had to be operated. Now I have a new hip and the difference is going to be huge when I hit the ice again, especially mentally, because I'll be able to play without the pain. This can mean that my career got five seasons longer."

With Lilja now missing following his surgery it presents some short-term issues for the Flyers, who enter the 2012-13 season with a patchwork defense featuring Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Nick Grossman, Erik Gustafsson, Luke Schenn, Marc-Andre Bourdon and Bruno Gervais.

Colorado Avalanche – Veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere (35) has signed a one-year contract extension through to the 2013-14 season with the Denver-based side. Making 32 appearances last season, his first for the franchise, he posted a 15-11-3 record with a 2.27 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. He was 9^th overall in the NHL in GAA and posted the best numbers by an Avalanche Goaltender since David Aebischer in the 2003-04 season (the last of the golden era). The Montreal native's finest hour was while playing for the Anaheim Ducks and leading them to the 2007 Stanley Cup championship. Four years previously, he became only the fifth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy while playing for the losing team when he led Anaheim to Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the New Jersey Devils.

Avalanche GM Greg Sherman said: "J.S. provided leadership, stability and a veteran presence to our team last season, he helped solidify our goaltending position and we are pleased to have J.S. under contract for the next two seasons."

Giguere's Stats

Career Record: 246-206-70

GAA: 2.52

Save Percentage: .913

Shutouts: 36

Games Played: 557

8th among active goaltenders

10th in wins (246).

246 career victories tie him for 46th place on the all-time list.

Giguere's 36 shutouts rank 41st in NHL history, and his 557 appearances place him 49th in games played by a goaltender.

Montreal – Max Pacioretty (23) has signed a 6 year contract extension with the Canadiens it was announced Yesterday. The deal is rumoured to be around the $4.5 million a year mark and comes into effect for the 2013-14 season. Having completed his 4^th NHL season last year he had a career-best season of 65 points (33+32) and does having 1 year left on his current deal.

Pacioretty speaking to the Montreal Gazette last night: "This is something I wanted to get done, I think once the team knew I wanted to get it done, they jumped on the opportunity as well. The biggest thing for me is, my career has been maybe plagued by instability and just to be able to call Montreal home for seven years is such an honor. I want to do whatever I can to help this team win and this will help me focus on that for years to come. It’s always been my mentality that I want to focus on winning hockey games right now, I think when you’re playing for yourself and playing for your contract, you kind of get away from the team mentality. So just being locked up for six years, I feel at home. The organization has taken a chance on me and now my job is to prove to them that I can help this team win games and I hope to do that for seven more years."

Pacioretty received the Bill Masterton Trophy last season for perseverance, determination and dedication to the game. He missed the last 15 regular-season games and the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2010-11 with a fractured neck and a concussion after a hit by Boston's Zdeno Chara in March of that year. Scoring 114 points (53 goals, 61 assists) in 202 NHL regular-season games the New Canaan, Conn. native was chosen in the first round (No. 22) of the 2007 NHL Draft. He is the first American-born player in Canadiens history to score at least 30 goals in a season.

Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told TSN: "Max is one of the best players at his position in the league, he's got size, he's a power forward, he's got determination. For us he's a key element in this organization. He's shown Montreal fans that this is the place he wants to play for a long time and be successful, and that's huge."

Meanwhile Restricted free agent defenseman P.K. Subban also wants to remain in Montreal, even though he still does not have a contract for next season, he remains optimistic he can prolong his Canadiens career. Subban is eligible to sign an offer sheet with another club. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Canadiens would have seven days to match the offer sheet. If they opted not to, they would receive a draft compensation package based on the terms of the offer sheet.

"There's no question that people know that I enjoy playing (in Montreal), I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan. I love playing there and I want to play there for the rest of my career. Ever since that first playoff run (in 2010), the message to me has been they've wanted me there for a long time, at the end of the day it's about your relationship with the team and if they want to do that. Maybe a lot of people were expecting me to have (the contract) done by now, but I know that it's a process, when it's going to happen I'm not sure. I mean, it could happen next week; it could happen a couple of weeks from now. I just hope it gets done sooner than later, when you're comfortable in a place, everybody would like a long-term deal. That's why I have my agent, Don Meehan. I have a lot of confidence in him. I don't think there is any doubt in anybody's mind that I want to be a Montreal Canadien, so hopefully it gets done soon. My job is to get myself ready for training camp, I could be sitting around on pins and needles waiting for it to happen, and then it happens and I'm not ready for training camp. I have to get myself ready for training camp and a good season. I've gotta be ready to play."