“Wish him a speedy recovery” – Devils forward Ondrej Palat out indefinitely after undergoing groin surgery

<strong>“Wish him a speedy recovery” – Devils forward Ondrej Palat out indefinitely after undergoing groin surgery</strong>

Ondrej Palat

New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat will be missing from the NHL games indefinitely. This Thursday he underwent groin surgery. This is Palat’s first season of his 5-year $30 million contract to play for the Devils, after being a part of the Tampa Bay Lightning for 10 years. 

Signed on July 14 with an annual average value of $6 million, the 31-year-old has scored 3 goals in 6 games this season. To date, he has participated in 634 games while recording a score of 426 points with 146 goals and 280 assists. He also led the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. Last season he led the team to the Cup finals.

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On Palat‘s injury, Devils captain Nico Hischier said, “It’s definitely unfortunate news for us, but on the other hand, it opens up new opportunities for new guys”. “We’re one team, so I always say if you’re out, nobody wants to be out, so he’s still on our team.” 

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“He’s still watching our games, texting us, so he’s still part of the team and we’ll try all to battle for him hard and obviously wish him a speedy recovery.”

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Ondrej Palat missed five games with the New Jersey Devils this season

Ondrej Palat
Ondrej Palat

The team won Thursday’s match against Edmonton Oilers with a 4-3 score. Palat missed 5 games including the team’s recent victory. On Saturday, the Devils will be facing the Calgary Flames, with the former having a record of winning 5 games till now.

Coach Lindy Ruff commented, “We keep dealing with it the same way we’ve been dealing with it”. “I think some of our young guys have filled in well. He’ll still be around. He was around even these past few days, and I think his leadership around the room, even when he’s not playing, it’s going to be something that the guys are going to lean on.”

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