ATLANTA - The star-crossed season of Manny Fernandez most likely came to an end yesterday morning when the 33-year-old Bruins goalie underwent surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to repair a chronic tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
According to general manager Peter Chiarelli, the procedure, which did not involve rebuilding the ligament, was successful. Fernandez was recovering at Mass. General's outpatient center in Waltham.
"It's been a chronic thing all year," said Chiarelli, who noted that Fernandez's knee had not improved since training camp despite rehab and therapy.
"Manny felt he couldn't perform at 100 percent. He had to alter his style. We felt that it would be best to do it now. Likely that he'll be gone the whole year - maybe not - but he'll be ready for next year at the latest."
The Bruins can now use a long-term injury exception to replace all or part of Fernandez's $4.33 million salary cap hit. Chiarelli said it was an option he was considering.
Fernandez originally injured the knee Jan. 20 against Dallas while playing for the Wild. He opted not to have surgery and reinjured the knee several times before seeing his last action of the season March 6.
Fernandez came into training camp expressing concerns about whether the knee had healed. But he was tabbed the starting goalie for the opener, when he gave up four goals on 18 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Stars. Fernandez was perfect in a 26-save, 1-0 shutout against the Rangers Oct. 20, but allowed six goals on 20 shots two nights later in a 6-1 rout against Montreal.
He started four games this season, going 2-2 with a 3.93 goals-against average and an .832 save percentage.
He also had been battling a herniated disk in his back.
Fernandez was acquired from Minnesota July 1 for forward Petr Kalus and a 2009 fourth-round pick after the Wild re-signed free agent goalie Niklas Backstrom. The Bruins made the deal believing Fernandez would be the No. 1 goalie in a rotation with Tim Thomas. But with Fernandez shelved, the Bruins had to ride Thomas until he suffered a groin pull eight days ago against New Jersey, prompting Chiarelli to acquire Alex Auld from Phoenix a day later.
Fernandez's knee prevented him from digging his blade into the ice and pushing from left to right while positioned in the butterfly. But Fernandez seemed to struggle with the mental side of the injury as well. He said he'd be thinking about his knee during games and practices.
Fernandez most recently spent two days in Providence on a conditioning loan.
"Manny tried," said Chiarelli. "I've got to give him credit. He tried to get through it. But yeah, it's a relief. He's going to be in shape for next year."
Thomas put on IR
After missing 12 games with a sprained knee, Andrew Ference returned to action last night."All good," said Ference, who recorded two assists, including one on Milan Lucic's winning goal. "Better than riding the bike."
Ference, who skated mostly with Aaron Ward, had 22 shifts for 16:30 of ice time.
To make room for Ference on the active roster, the Bruins placed Thomas on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 5.
Chiarelli estimated that Thomas is about 5-7 days from returning. The GM said that when Thomas is healthy, he and Auld will be the duo in Boston, with Tuukka Rask headed back to Providence.
Sturm sidelined
While Ference returned to the lineup, Marco Sturm was held out after taking a puck near his right eye Monday."He's got another day of recovery," said Julien. "Medically, he wasn't cleared to go. We're still hoping for good news that we may see him [tonight against New Jersey]. It's the pressure on the eye because of the swelling. There's no damage to the eye. That's why we say there's probably a good opportunity [tonight] - if the swelling goes down and the pressure comes off - that he'll be able to play."
Sturm missed his first game of the season. He sat out six games last season.
Double whammy
Jeremy Reich, who has impressed Julien with his skating, toughness, and hockey sense, appeared in his 18th straight game last night.But Reich revealed there were two reasons he might have been scratched from the first 12 games.
Late in the summer, while still in his native Saskatchewan, Reich became sick. When he visited a doctor, Reich was told he might have contracted West Nile virus.
"Wow," Reich recalled, opening his eyes wide, of hearing the news.
By the start of training camp, Reich was feeling better, but he had lost 10-12 pounds because of the illness, which was never identified.
Then during one of the opening days of camp, Reich caught a rut in the Garden ice and felt something not right around his abdominal area. Reich had some groin discomfort last season. When he was playing in the AHL in Syracuse, Reich had undergone abdominal surgery, and thought he might have aggravated something in September.
"I couldn't stride," said Reich. "So those first 12 games that I didn't play, it was there. But it's pretty good now. Definitely helped [sitting out the 12 games]."
Sobotka suits up
Vladimir Sobotka, out the last three games because of a shoulder injury, played and recorded two shots in 7:23 of ice time while skating as the fourth-line left wing . . . Last night was the 24th game that Atlanta general manager Don Waddell has also coached. Waddell took over the bench after firing Bob Hartley Oct. 17. "Don't think I could," Chiarelli said of handling both duties. "First of all, I've never coached. But as a manager, there are so many things you have to be in control of. You've got to talk to your pro scouts, your amateur scouts, manage your team, manage personalities. Donny says that on game day, he's thinking about nothing but coaching."qeeeeeeeee
