Quick hit here, but rumors are swirling that veteran Ed Jovanovski is likely out for the year with what has been a long-term knee injury. But the bigger rumors are if this lingering problem may lead to his retirement as well.

Jovanovski, the first overall pick in franchise history for Florida back in 1994, has played in 1,167 NHL games with Florida, Vancouver, and Phoenix. The picture associated with this blog post should have a "C" on the jersey, as he is the current team captain.




While nothing has been officially announced at this time about Jovo's future, this would be a sad way to leave the game if it is indeed the end.

He was affectionately called Jovo Cop in his early career with Florida, which was created as a result of his reckless and bruising style of play. He was an integral part to last year's playoff team that finally got the monkey off their back after over a decade of failure.

He is a great locker room guy, always nice to the media, and he will be missed for the rest of this season, and possibly beyond.

For a franchise that has few riches to boast in its short history, Jovanovski certainly has a firm place in the story of Florida's early success in the mid-90s, and his long and successful NHL career will be forever celebrated. Here's hoping that some rest will get him back to where he needs to be to be an NHL contributor again. He was and is the warrior every team wants on their side.

Dan Spiegel...
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