It was Tom Petty who said the waiting is the hardest part.
For Simon Gagne, part of the agonizing wait is over. After a week of scuffling, the Flyers finally have mapped out a battle plan to help Gagne beat his nagging groin and abdominal injuries.
Starting today, though, Gagne will begin a different kind of waiting.
Gagne will have two different surgeries today, performed by Dr. William Meyers at Hahnemann University Hospital, to both repair and reinforce the rectus abdominus muscle, and also search for the two small hernias that were detected in an ultrasound by team orthopedist Dr. Peter DeLuca on Oct. 26.
"It's over. We finally know," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "He's had repairs in both of those areas before, so the doctor wants to go through those same incisions - they're just small incisions - and reinforce and strengthen the area."
Holmgren said that Gagne, who tallied 34 goals last season, will "probably" be out for the next 6 to 8 weeks. Gagne has netted only one goal in nine games this season.
"I think we made the right decision to go ahead and fix everything," Gagne said. "I'll have time to get back in shape and get my game back and feeling 100 percent when I'm skating. That's something I wasn't able to do right now. That's why I think the decision was made to go ahead and do the surgery."
The rectus abdominus is the "sixpack" of the abdomen that extends below the pelvis and connects with the groin area. It is responsible for flexing the lumbar spine and keeps internal organs intact with intra-abdominal pressure during exercise and lifting weights.
Gagne is naturally bowlegged, which helps in his skating style but puts extra strain on his groin and abdomen. That may, or may not, have caused what the doctors think are the two small hernias that tore through his groin.
The reason it took so long to come up with an operating plan was that the two opinions Gagne received - the original in Philadelphia and one in Montreal with Dr. Rea Brown - were conflicting. One saw the hernias and the other did not; there was also a question as to whether to have surgery.
Meyers will explore the area after repairing the rectus abdominus and if the hernias do exist, nip them in the bud.
"[Meyers] will look at the small hernias that we saw in the ultrasound and see if they really are there," Holmgren said. "That will be a little bit of a different procedure. It does seem frustrating at times but at the end of the day, you've got to trust the player. Simon's been through a lot. We just wanted to make sure we get it done right."
The reinforcement part of the surgery is to try and prevent a reoccurrence of the injury. Gagne had surgery to repair a double hernia after the 2006-07 season.
"He's had this procedure done before by a different doctor, not Dr. Meyers," Holmgren said. "Do they break down over time? I don't know. There are other players in other sports where it hasn't happened. We're going to get in and fix it."
"[I will] get on a program after the surgery to make sure those types of injuries don't happen to me anymore," Gagne said.
Holmgren said the Flyers don't need to trade for another player.
"We've got to come through and lean on the guys that we've got now," Holmgren said. "I think that some of our young players have come up - like James [van Riemsdyk] - and have played really well. I think David Laliberte came up and played a good game. We'll see how it goes for a little while."
Getting Danny Briere back in the mix could help pick up the slack in Gagne's absence. But Briere also has been sidelined with an injury in the same area but is expected to be back skating tomorrow.
"It would be nice to have Danny back," Holmgren said. "I don't think that's a long-term thing right now. The other guys have just got to pick it up."
Kick saves
Former Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki did not get the start in net last night for the Lightning but did replace Mike Smith, who was pulled after allowing five goals in 26:59. Niittymaki had been 2-1-1 with an impressive 2.22 GAA and .931 save percentage in four starts . . . The announced attendance was 18,667, but the Wachovia Center seemed about 70 percent full at the 5 o'clock start . . . The Flyers have delivered a 25 percent increase in TV ratings on Comcast SportsNet this season, scoring a 2.5 market rating, up from 2.0 at this time last year.
