Ondrej Palat will be out for some time.
New Jersey Devils announced that after the consultation with the doctor on Monday. Palat underwent successful groin surgery this morning and is expected to make a full recovery. The timetable for his return to the Devils lineup has not yet been determined.
Palat, who won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, signed a five-year, $30M deal this past offseason and was expected to bring veteran leadership to a young team that had been in a nearly decade long rebuild process with only one playoff win during that time.
Before the injury, Palat already started to have an impact with New Jersey. When the team went 0-2 to start the season, they were behind 2-0 against the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks before Palat scored his first goal with his new team and then scored two more the following game against the Islanders. But, he didn’t look like himself against the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals and was held to zero points. At times, he appeared to be slower and his groin was clearly effecting his play. Moreover, this is a big blow for the Devils.
However, it is not the end of the world.
Since Palat’s last game, New Jersey has been on a tear as of late. They beat the Detroit Red Wings, reigning Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche, and Johnny Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 14-3 in that stretch. When the Devils were on their heels to start the season with “Fire Lindy” chants raining down at the Rock, Palat led by example and showed the young kids how it is done and not to get down on yourselves. Now, it looks as though the young kids like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt have taken the torch and are absolutely overpowering their opponents with a barrage of high quality chances on net.
The biggest test will be the Devils west coast swing starting tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. Can the Devils overcome this injury to one of their leaders?
We shall see but so far, Hischier, Hughes, and Bratt got this!
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET. You can follow Sam on Twitter: @PrimetimeSamWoo 
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