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Tuesday, December 21, 1999
Fuhr KO'd by knee
Desperation set in for Grant Fuhr yesterday.
Walking the malls of Calgary, he had but hours to finish his Christmas shopping.
Going under the knife for knee surgery today forced an early deadline to his shopping, not to mention his playing time.
If he could, you know the top item on his shopping list yesterday would be a new right knee.
It has been a problem ever since Nick Kypreos, then of the Toronto Maple Leafs, barreled into Fuhr in the 1996 playoffs, forcing reconstructive surgery.
It has flared up often since then, including last season.
But if there is good news, it is that this is a minor cleaning out operation -- a knee lube job if you will -- that Fuhr has recovered well from before.
And well, there is Freddie Brathwaite still healthy and seemingly ready and able to carry the goaltending load.
Still, the arthroscopic knee surgery is something Fuhr would rather do without. Unfortunately, at 37 years old, it is a fact of his hockey life.
The extent of the damage won't be known until today. The best case scenario is two weeks, the worst probably six weeks.
In his place, the team has recalled Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who will get another chance to prove if his billing as the goalie of the future is deserved.
While the injury to Fuhr could have represented a serious blow to this team, the simple fact is that Brathwaite has played his way into the starting job.
Fuhr had played well in his last two starts, including a 5-1 loss last week to the same Dallas Stars who come to the Saddledome tonight.
"Grant probably could continue to play, but he's not going to be 100 percent healthy," said head coach Brian Sutter, who has known about the injury for some time.
"We wanted to find the right time and place (for the surgery) and this is it.
"I'm not surprised and I'm not shocked. It's just something that had to be done because it has irritated him for awhile.
"I didn't notice it because he was outstanding in the last two games he played. Everything is mental for goalies -- they are like pitchers in baseball, and if something is bothering them it is probably going to affect their play.
"It's important for him to get looked after. It's nothing serious."
The interesting question will be how Giguere fits in.
He's likely to see action, probably as early as Dec. 26 or 27 when the Flames play back-to-back games.
"I won't hesitate to play him," said Sutter.
"Giguere was player of the month down there last month. He has been very good at times and he hasn't been so good at other times.
"He and Tyler (Moss) were both disappointed when they got sent down because they said they didn't get an opportunity. And the reality is they had the same amount of minutes (in training camp) Freddie did. Now it's going to be up to him.
"We said to him 'if you get your chance again, be ready. It's a long year.'
"Everything is an opportunity -- hopefully he grasps it and learns something from it."
Indeed, the injury to Fuhr will allow the Flames to learn plenty.
They will learn if Brathwaite can handle the pressure as the undisputed No. 1 goalie.
They'll learn if Giguere is all he's billed to be.
But perhaps more importantly, they would like to learn that Grant Fuhr will be healthy again soon.
When he went down with the same knee injury last season in St. Louis, he came back to play in 16 of the Blues final 18 games, posting a 9-4-3 record and sparkling 2.10 GAA.
In the playoffs, he shut out Phoenix in a critical Game 7.
It's that kind of prognosis that is at the top of the Christmas wish list for both Fuhr and the Flames.
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