I can’t help but wonder if Lilja is rushing himself back because of the fierce competition for the 5, 6, and 7 spots in the Wings D. For the sake of his personal well-being, I hope that is not the case.

I think it is fair to say that surgical techniques have advanced so much, even in just the last few years, that I’m actually not that surprised that a well-conditioned professional athlete can come back from this type of operation in a week’s time. I don’t mean to minimize the procedure by any means, but they do this surgery as a scope now, so I imagine that minimizes bruising, danger of damaging the sensitive, operated-upon area, and recovery pain.

Posted by Nathan on 10/24/08 at 03:03 PM ET

Just another one of those soft, don’t-have-what-it-takes European players.  I bet the wings are ready to unload all of their Swedish assets for Canadians so they can finally get over the hump.

Posted by Shane from Lubbock on 10/24/08 at 03:40 PM ET

I have rode Lilja HARD for two seasons now for reasons we all know…  but, yeah… dude, you just had an internal organ removed from your body.  Relax, and recuperate…  don’t
risk further damage or your life or something.

There’s never been a doubt in my mind that Lilja is as tough as they come.  Problem is more that he’s also incredibly thick-headed with the puck…

Hopefully he’s recovered well.

Posted by Primis on 10/24/08 at 03:50 PM ET

Problem is more that he’s also incredibly thick-headed with the puck…

... and when the women say “Nej!” but that’s not really why he scares us.

I couldn’t agree more- dude needs to relax some.  I’m not sure if the rush is about losing his spot, though, as it would make sense to me that the best way to lose your spot would be to come back too early and play poorly.  And that’s overlooking that his skillset is fairly unique amongst Wings D-men gunning for that last spot.

The way I see it, Meech/Lebda are current auditioning to see who will be Lilja’s partner.  They’re interchangeable to some degree, as offense-minded fast d-men who like to join the rush.  Lilja is not, as a heavy, shot-blocking stay at home defenseman. 

I guess maybe his spot is up for grabs if you ignore that part of his game and only view him as a d-man making bad passes and failing to clear the zone.  Swedes are humble people.  Maybe he views himself as most of this community does and wants to hurry back for that reason!

Posted by Shane from Lubbock on 10/24/08 at 04:57 PM ET