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 9th
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 4th 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."
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