Kings' Winger Returns
(from the Daily News)
By Matt McHale
Staff Writer
October 10, 2002 - Ian Laperriere, the Kings' right wing and alternate captain, returned to the lineup for Wednesday's season opener, eight weeks to the day he underwent abdominal surgery.
Laperriere, 28, missed the entire exhibition schedule rehabilitating the injury suffered during summer workouts in his native Montreal. He has been skating for a month but did not participate in full-contact drills until last week. He didn't play during the Kings' final exhibition trip to Oklahoma City and Las Vegas.
"But the last five days have been great, and I know I am ready," said Laperriere, who was back on the third line with Brad Chartrand and Mikko Eloranta. "I know there will still be some pain, but I've talked to all the guys that have had this injury. I know what to expect."
The Kings have had a rash of abdominal injuries the past two seasons. Defenseman Aaron Miller is sidelined until early November after undergoing the same surgery as Laperriere. Last year, defenseman Mathieu Schneider missed eight weeks with a sports hernia.
Schneider said he doesn't think Laperriere's aggressive playing style puts him in danger of re-injury. There can be some scary moments when scar tissue breaks away from the mesh surgically inserted to keep the abdomen intact.
"That pain can be pretty intense," Schneider said. "But it only lasts a day."
--The big guy: The Kings opened the season with Brad Norton replacing Miller in the same defensive pairing with Schneider. Norton, 27, is a former Edmonton Oiler who played 22 games last season for Florida. The Panthers are going with a youth movement, including 18-year-old defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, the second overall pick in the draft.
Norton came to the Kings' training camp on a tryout basis. The Kings were hoping to bulk up on the blue line and Norton is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds. He also plays with a bit of a mean streak.
--Quick whistles: There has been no movement in attempts to trade winger Steve Heinze, last year's top free-agent signee who was sent Monday to minor-league Manchester (N.H.). Heinze, 32, agreed to a three-year, $6 million contract in July 2001, a week after Luc Robitaille signed with Detroit. Heinze scored 27 goals the year before, including 15 on the power play, but he did not score a goal in his last 27 games last season and played sparingly during the exhibition season. He is owed $4.2 million by the Kings, who will have to eat part of the contract to facilitate a trade. ... Healthy scratches for the Kings: left wing Ken Belanger, center Jaroslav Bednar and defenseman Chris McAlpine.