Zednik remains in stable condition

Feb 11, 2008 - 11:06 PM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Doctors expressed optimism Monday that Florida Panthers left wing Richard Zednik will make a full recovery after undergoing emergency surgery Sunday night to repair a cut in his carotid artery.

The 32-year-old Zednik was rushed to Buffalo General Hospital after getting cut in the neck by the skate blade of teammate Olli Jokinen during Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Zednik remained in the intensive care unit at the hospital on Monday afternoon but was listed in stable condition.

Dr. Sonya Noor, the attending surgeon for Zednik, said that because the player received a "clean" cut, there were minimal complications during the surgery.

"Down the road, we should allow him to go back to regular activity in six to eight weeks," said Noor, who indicated the surgery lasted about an hour. "I think we'll leave him in the ICU today and move him to the floor in the next couple days."

Noor said Zednik will not be discharged until he can get up and consume solid food.

"This was a remarkable injury in that the common carotid artery was severed almost completely in half but nothing else was really injured by this skate blade that went though his neck like a knife," Dr. Richard Curl added. "It's very difficult to say, but this morning he looks very good."

Sabres team physician Dr. Leslie Bisson said that Zednik initially did not realize he was hurt and remained conscious throughout.

"He actually asked me when he can go back to training," Noor added. "I said next season."

Zednik, who bled profusely from his neck, was able to skate toward his bench where he was met by assistant athletic trainer Dave Zenobi and immediately ushered to the locker room.

Sportsnet of Canada reported that Zednik underwent life-saving surgery, but Bisson said he never got any sense that the player was near death.

"I wouldn't say that at any point we're thinking, 'He's going to die,'" Bisson said. "I don't think he was close to death at any point."

"It was essentially a stab wound to the neck, a penetrating wound," Noor added. "That's how we treated it."

With 9:56 remaining in the third period, Jokinen was being checked by Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell - and the captain's skate raised up and caught Zednik trailing the play.

The game was delayed for more than 15 minutes as the blood was cleaned off the ice.

The play brought back uncomfortable memories of when then-Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk had his jugular sliced in a 1989 game against the St. Louis Blues.

Noor said the gash in Zednik's neck was an "inch, inch and a half long" and "at least that deep." Still, she does not expect any long-term damage.

"Nothing major, I don't think, is going to happen - barring a major complication," she said.

Zednik has 15 goals, 11 assists and 43 penalty minutes in 54 games this season.

He has collected 183 goals and 346 points in 675 career games with Washington, Montreal, the New York Islanders and Panthers. He also represented his native Slovakia in the 2006 Winter Olympics, scoring one goal in six contests.