More surgery updates, first Captain Keith Primeau.
Keith Primeau on his nose surgery.
Q: You had your nosed operated this morning. How did it go?
Primeau: “Actually it went really well. I was really pleased that I had it done. I have been thinking about it upward of two years because of the pressure I felt from behind my nose. After having it done this morning I felt terrific immediately afterward. After my surgery I felt real relief and I am really looking forward to the recovery the next couple of weeks.”
Q: Did this sinus pressure from behind your nose have anything to do with your post concussion symptoms that kept you out last season?
Primeau: “I’m really not sure. There have been a lot of different things. There was obviously head trauma. But this is kind of the final stage in the healing process. It was important that I got it done. As I said, I just felt like because my nose is so off centered, the pressure that I was getting from the muscles was causing some of the lingering effects. I am just hoping this operation rectified that a bit.”
Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin talks about Sami Kapanen’s surgery.
Q: Can you tell us about Sami Kapanen?
McCrossin: “Sami underwent surgery today to clean-up his right shoulder. Dr. Peter DeLuca at Hahnemann Hospital performed the surgery. Sami’s bicep tendon was frayed a bit and Dr. DeLuca cleaned it up. Dr. DeLuca also repaired a small tear in his rotator cuff muscle.”
Q: What is rehab for Sami?
McCrossin: “I picked up Sami today. He is doing great and he will be starting rehab with me tomorrow. We are looking at about eight-to-10 weeks recovery time.”
Simon Gagne on his surgery
Q: How are you feeling right now?
Simon Gagne: “I feel pretty good. It’s starting to feel a lot better than the day of the surgery. I cannot move too much but it’s feeling very good.”
Q: What are you doing for treatment?
Gagne: “Right now it’s pretty much easy. I’m biking 20 minutes, twice a day, just to keep the motion and (I) do some stretching with Jimmy (McCrossin) and Sal (Raffa) and Steve (Lipinski) at the Skate Zone.”
Q: Was your injury affecting you the last part of the season?
Gagne: “You know what, I know that I had some soreness especially in the groin area, some tightness a little bit in the hip. But I never could tell it was coming from the hip. I thought it was a groin problem. It was a little bit tougher, especially after the Olympics. I started to have a lot of pain in my groin and had to get stretched before and after games to keep the pain away. But it was not too bad. But I am glad that I decided to fix it and it will be 100 percent next year.”
Gagne also talks about his celebrity golf tournament.
Q: Can you tell us about your celebrity golf tournament?
Gagne: “Yes, this is the 5th year of the Simon Gagne Golf Tournament. Our web site address is www.golfsimongagne.com. This year’s event will be Thursday, July 6 in Quebec. All money raised is going to “Leukemia for Kids” back home in Quebec. We’ve raised over $160,000 since it began. It is always a fun event and it raises money for a great cause.”
Q: If people want to send donations, do you have an address?
Gagne: “Maybe the best way is to go on the website www.golfsimongagne.com. But, it is in French!”
Yes, it is in French. At this point I would usually make a smartass comment about French-Canadians, but I won’t because the stupidity of not having an English version of the site speaks for itself. Did no one realize the percentage of Simon Gagne fans that his site essentially shuts out from donating?