BUFFALO – Sabres winger Jason Zucker underwent offseason sports hernia surgery and could miss the first two weeks of the regular season, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday after players reported to training camp.
“He’s very close to the start of the year,” Kekalainen said in LECOM Harborcenter.
Meanwhile, Kekalainen said defenseman Louis Crevier, who arrived in the offseason trade that sent Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks, underwent shoulder surgery and will likely be ready for the season opener Oct. 1.
“He looks like he’s ready,” Kekalainen said. “I think he still needs to talk to the doctor that operated on him, but we think he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. We still don’t have a final answer on it.”
In other injury news, coach Lindy Ruff said center Justin Danforth, who broke his kneecap in the fourth game last year and missed the rest of season, will likely start camp with the Sabres.
The Sabres hold their first on-ice sessions of camp Thursday morning in Harborcenter.
After undergoing surgery last season, Danforth had another procedure to clean up cartilage that hindering his movement.
“He had his ups and downs with trying to get back,” Ruff said. “… He’s a really competitive guy who will do almost anything to win hockey games, from blocking shots, and that’s how he got hurt.
“We felt we had a right-handed centermen who could take key faceoffs for us. There was a little bit of a decision of whether he would be at camp maybe a month ago. But he’s starting to feel good.”
Check back for more updates.