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Visnovsky officially ruled out of Olympics, ‘huge loss’ says Slovakian GM

New York Islanders v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Lubomir Visnovsky #11 of the New York Islanders in action against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on February 4, 2014 in Washington, DC. The New York Islanders won, 1-0. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Patrick Smith

Although Islanders GM Garth Snow made it known on Thursday that he didn’t want defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky playing in the Winter Olympics, Slovakian Olympic GM Otto Sykora quickly announced his plans to reach out to Snow.

Sykora didn’t understand why Visnovsky was being held out of the games. Visnovsky was sidelined for more than three months because of a concussion, but he was able to return on Jan. 27 and has participated in five straight contests with the Islanders.

However, Sykora revealed today that Visnovsky doesn’t feel up to playing in the Winter Games, according to the Associated Press. The Slovakian GM added that it’s “a huge loss for us.”

That might be putting it mildly. Slovakia was already reeling from the loss of Marian Gaborik and while the nation still has some stars on its roster like Zdeno Chara, it doesn’t have a lot of depth to lean back on when they lose players of this caliber.

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