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This past weekend the Penguins were in Miami to play the Panthers and a familiar face came to the rink. Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun, who still resides in South Florida, went to the game and spoke to the media for the first time in a long time.
Vokoun has been out of the Penguins lineup since a blood clot was found in his pelvis during the preseason. The blood clot had the potential of being life threatening. Clearly hockey isn’t the #1 priority in a situation like this but so far Vokoun seems to be doing well in his recovery. Here is what he had to say about his situation and where he stands now:
"Basically, the process was three months minimum and I'm a little around eight weeks now, I feel great, don't have any health issues. I'm still taking the medication. I feel good. Hopefully, everything is going well as far as I can tell.
It's hard to kind of look that much time ahead, but definitely if I get cleared, I want to try. It's all going to depend on the recommendations of doctors, but so far I haven't had any problems or setbacks.
"I think it's early right now. I can't take shots, so for me to just skate around, I don't think I would get a lot out of it. In a month, I'm going to see the hematologist and he's going to give me more what he thinks I should do, and then it's up to me to take the pros and cons against what I'm going to do and make a decision then."
Anything can happen. When you play professional sports, you've got to understand it's not going to be forever. I always choose my health over anything else. Saying that, maybe that's never going to be an issue either. Whatever happens, I'm kind of preparing for the worst-case scenario, and the best-case scenario is everything is going to be OK, and I'm going to make my decision if I play or don't play."
From what Vokoun is saying it appears that his recovery is on track for a potential return. Given that there is still one month left in the initial recovery process the real answers will not be known until after the New Year.
The good news on the Penguins side of things is that they will be able to get some clarity on Vokoun’s condition well before the trade deadline. Vokoun is a huge piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins puzzle and whether Vokoun returns or is forced into retirement, it will heavily impact on how the Penguins move forward. Jeff Zatkoff has done what he has had to do as of late, but I can’t imagine the Penguins would feel too confident placing him into a playoff game if Fleury were to struggle.
The Penguins goaltending hasn't been atrocious but it also has not been great. The Penguins are currently ranked 24th overall in EVSV% at .916%.
To put that number into perspective here are the past 3 Stanley Cup Champions and how they fared in EVSV% during the regular season:
2010-2011 Boston Bruins ranked 1st overall at .937% (Won't get much higher than that)
2011-2012 Los Angeles Kings ranked 4th overall at .928%
2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks ranked 6th overall at .931%
It goes without saying that the Penguins need that 24th ranking to get better.
For now it appears that Vokoun has excellent perspective on his situation and seems prepared to handle anything thrown his way, much like he has throughout his playing career. Hopefully this is the beginning of his return to hockey and not the beginning of a goodbye.
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