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James Wisniewski going to Lightning camp on a tryout
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman James Wisniewski to a professional tryout on Thursday.
The 5-foot-11, 203-pound Wisniewski played just 47 seconds of one game last season with the Carolina Hurricanes before suffering a torn left ACL and missing the entire year.
The Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle noted that Wisniewski’s injury is a “huge concern” and his “mobility may be affected” going into Tampa training camp.
Cardiac Cane spoke with Wisniewski last January about his recovery from this latest setback.
“This is my 4th one (ACL injury), I’ve had 3 on my right and 1 on my left, and just knowing the rehabilitation period that’s coming, it’s all mental. There are things in life that make you push harder and push through it. This is almost the exact opposite. You can only go so far, it’s what they (trainers and doctors) tell you you can do. There’s no ‘I’m going to do a little extra and go harder,’ if you try to go harder, then that just sets you back and will hurt your progress. You just have to wait and follow the guidelines.”
The Hurricanes bought out the remainder of Wisniewski’s contract in late June. He had one season at a $5.5 million salary cap hit left on a six-year $33 million deal he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets before the 2011-12 season.
The Blue Jackets traded him to the Anaheim Ducks at the 2015 trade deadline. Anaheim then sent Wisniewski to the Hurricanes in a deal for Anton Khudobin during the 2015 offseason.
When healthy, the 32-year-old Wisniewski can be a solid offensive defenseman. In three-plus years with the Blue Jackets, he averaged 0.58 points per-game. In 2013-14, Wisniewski notched 51 points in 75 games played.
Wisniewski’s name had also been rumored to the Edmonton Oilers this summer.
Last season several veterans parlayed professional tryout deals into NHL jobs. Even though the Lightning return their entire core defense in tact, Wisniewski could be a decent depth option for cheap if he has a solid camp.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
