Good news on the Vasicek front.

I damn near cried with joy when I read this article(photo from hurricanes.com) in the Raleigh News & Observer, about Josef Vasicek's recovery process from his knee surgery. In November, he was forced to undergo surgery to repair an MCL tear to his left knee. He was deemed "out for 4-6 months". The front end of that estimate would put him back in the lineup just as the season is winding down. According to the article, he's progressing quite nicely, and should be closer to the front end than the back end of that estimate. Hopefully, then, he'll be not only in the lineup, but back up to speed by the start of the playoffs.

I know he's still a ways off, but it's great just to hear that he's actually practicing with the team. And that he's eager to get back. I'm not going to foolishly hope for anything other than a "late March" return. If that ends up being the case, he'll get about ten or twelve games before the playoffs start. Hopefully, that'll be enough time to find his legs and get in a groove.

There are those who will say "It ain't broke, so don't fix it!". And I will say that I would have absolutely no problem sending Andrew Ladd down to Lowell, where he would give them a better chance at winning the Calder Cup. I love Andrew Ladd, and he's going to be a huge part of this organization for years to come (I hope), but when Big Joe comes back, the best place for Ladd will be Lowell. He likes the bars there, anyway.