Red Wings' Stephen Weiss has surgery, out until after Olympics
Stephen Weiss will miss a few months after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia. He'll be out until after the Winter Olympics.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
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Detroit Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia and won’t return to play until after the Olympics according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
#RedWings F Stephen Weiss core muscle surgery for sports hernia went well, expected back after Olympics.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) December 23, 2013
The fact that the Olympic break takes nearly three weeks out of the NHL’s season, the loss of Weiss probably won’t be as great as it would have been otherwise. That said, Weiss has vastly underperformed after signing a big five-year, $24.5 million contract with the Wings as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The 30-year-old forward has just four points in 26 games this year and has never seemed to find his way in Detroit. Injury troubles have plagued Weiss only recently in his career as he also missed most of last season with the Panthers after suffering a severe wrist injury.
Weiss had topped 20 goals in each of the three seasons prior to 2012-13, so he has been capable of producing in the past. It just hasn’t materialized yet. That big contract hanging over Weiss' head certainly doesn't help.
The injury obviously isn’t ideal, but it may give Weiss some more time to get fully healthy and perhaps reset for the rest of the season. If the Red Wings are going to be making any kind of run, it would help to have Weiss healthy and producing at a level he is capable of.
