New Jersey Devils backup goalie Kevin Weekes had been playing through pain
Monday September 15, 2008, 12:32 PM
Tony
Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger
Kevin Weekes, left,
did not realize he was seriously hurt until a postseason MRI revealed damage.
It has become clear why Devils GM Lou Lamoriello signed free agent goaltender
Scott Clemmensen this summer.
Backup Kevin Weekes underwent relatively serious surgery on his left arm
during the offseason and there was no guarantee he'd be ready for this season.
Weekes was among 22 Devils veterans who skated Monday morning at the
AmeriHealth Pavilion in Newark and he explained he needed to have a torn bicep
tendon repaired and re-attached to the bone.
"Surgery made sense considering the tendon was almost fully torn,"
Weekes revealed. "I knew something was up last season, but I didn't know to
what extent. Sometimes ignorance is bliss."
After several seasons of playing with pain, Weekes discovered there was a
serious problem when Devils players went through postseason medical exams. An
MRI revealed the degree of severity and he had surgery in late May.
"The pain varied. I had good days and bad days," Weekes said.
"Some days were more painful than others. When scar tissue starts building
you get that sensation maybe it's not so bad. But when you get that MRI, you
listen to the doctor and surgeon."
Dr. Ross Fox performed the operation.
"It came from deterioration over time," the goalie said. "From
making saves and catching the puck since you were a little kid. Especially now
when guys shoot. How many shots are you catching in practice? I don't even want
to think about it."
Nor did he want to consider that his season might be in jeopardy.
"I didn't think that way going into surgery. I thought that way after it
was done," he said. "It is pretty strong. Hopefully we don't have any
setbacks. We'll continue to keep our fingers crossed."
Weekes said his arm is stiff.
"Everything is somewhat ahead of schedule at this stage," he said.
"I'll take it day by day and continue building strength. It feels good to
be back on the ice. The last few weeks I got clearance to catch pucks. Today I
got a lot of shots. It's a little bit stiff. That's to be expected.
"You realize how much you use your arm, even when you're not making
saves. Let alone guys shooting pucks 100-plus miles an hour."
Weekes said his playing time wasn't cut short last season by the sore arm
because no one knew about the tendon injury. He hopes he can be fully healed by
the time the regular season begins.
In the meantime, Clemmensen is back in the organization just in case.
Besides having the surgery, Weekes and his wife finally went on their
honeymoon (to Hawaii) and he held his goalie camp with Chico Resch in Wayne this
summer.
