NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -New York Islanders center Mike Sillinger will undergo season-ending hip surgery within the next week.
Sillinger hasn’t played since Feb. 5 when he was forced out of the lineup by a nagging hip injury. The 36-year-old is in the second season of a three-year deal that pays him $2.2 million this season and $2.3 million for 2008-09.
The surgery will be performed in Colorado by the doctor who operated on Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro last summer, the team said Saturday before facing the New Jersey Devils.
Sillinger missed New York’s game at Carolina on Dec. 31 and then played through the pain for 15 games before shutting it down earlier this month. He has 14 goals and 12 assists this season.
The Islanders are Sillinger’s NHL-record 12th team. Had he remained healthy for this season, he would’ve played more games for New York than any other club. The injury ensures he won’t be moved before Tuesday’s trade deadline, the second straight year Sillinger has stayed in place.
Sillinger, who has played 134 games with the Islanders, has 238 goals and 546 points in 1,042 games over 17 NHL seasons.
New York did get some good news Saturday with the return of defenseman Bruno Gervais to the lineup. Gervais had missed six games due to an oblique injury. Fellow defenseman Brendan Witt (knee) is still a week or two away from playing, and Andy Sutton is expected to be out four to six weeks because of a torn hamstring.
Another defenseman, Chris Campoli, is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
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