Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith will miss eight to 10 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle.
Smith hasn’t played since Dec. 8 against the St. Louis Blues.
According to Arizona GM Don Maloney, Smith had been trying to play through the injury for a while before the decision was made to have surgery.
“When the initial injury happens you rehab it and see if he can play with it, fortunately we were able to get the procedure done in relatively short order,” said Maloney. “Our hope is that he will be back before the end of the season.
It had been something that had been lingering for a little while and it got to the point where he couldn’t play anymore.”
Smith’s numbers haven’t been great this year, going 10-9-1 with a .901 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against average for a Coyotes team that’s currently in second place in the Pacific Division.
Anders Lindback is expected to get most of the starts from here on out, barring a trade.
Lindback was the starter for the Buffalo Sabres down the stretch of last season, posting a .924 save percentage in 16 games. It was his performance there that led to him being signed by Maloney in the first place.
“He took a step forward in his career last year, the last part of last season, and now’s a chance,” said Maloney. “He’s at the right age and the right stage of his career to get an opportunity to carry a team and that’s what we need him to do.”
23-year-old Louis Domingue will serve as Lindback’s backup for the time being, and though Maloney says he has confidence in what he has right now, he did not rule out making a move to acquire another goaltender.
“(Lindback)’ll get in net and he’ll have to hopefully carry us and win games for us but in the meantime we will be actively looking outside to see if there’s something that can make us a little stronger.”
Smith finished fourth in Vezina voting in 2011-12, and has an Olympic and World Championship gold medal.
He is in the third year of a six-year $34-million contract.
