Vincent Lecavalier will undergo minor knee surgery, shouldn’t miss training camp

Tampa Bay Lightning’s Vincent Lecavalier (4) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 4, 2010, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

AP

Even if the words are preceded by “minor,” it’s still disturbing to hear news of knee surgery for your $85 million captain. That is the case with Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier, who will undergo a minor off-season surgery on his knee on August 24.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that center Vincent Lecavalier will undergo a minor arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Tuesday, August 24 in Tampa. The procedure will be performed by Lightning Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Ira Guttentag at the Florida Medical Clinic.

The recovery time will be 3-4 weeks and Lecavalier is expected to be ready to participate in the Lightning’s training camp, which begins Friday, September 17.

Even if he takes a little longer to recover, chances are he’ll at least be able to return for the regular season. You wonder why he wasn’t able to detect this problem earlier in the summer, but at least he didn’t wait so long as to impair himself during any games that matter.

Lecavalier has been impressively durable during his NHL career, particularly recently as he played in all but six games the last four seasons. He only scored 70 and 67 points the last two campaigns, but one wonders if an improved front office situation might help the big, talented center focus on hockey instead of everything going on around him.