I suffered a knee injury a few weeks ago against Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, injuries are a part of pro sports—that's the cold reality! I do everything I can to remain fit and healthy year-round and I'm approaching the rehab process the exact same way. I'm rehabbing with one of the most respected sports medicine doctors in the world and I'm spending an average of six hours a day doing cutting-edge treatments to accelerate my recovery rate by 70%, in hopes of returning to our team as soon as possible.

The regular season is such a grind, yet it goes by so quickly—especially when you're on a winning team. On that note, we set a franchise record by winning 51 games this season. Pretty remarkable considering the success our organization has had over the past 15 years.

It was truly a marathon that seemed like a long sprint because about 90% of our 30 teams in the league were involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs race until the last few weeks of the season, making every one of the 82 games crucial. As an NHL veteran and fan, I followed the race in both conferences right down to the wire. Weren't they exciting? Congrats to Columbus and St. Louis! Nobody gave you guys a chance and you proved why teamwork and actually playing the games on the ice, and not on paper are SO important. Kudos to Nashville and Florida for almost getting in and overcoming adversity as well.

In both conferences, every match up, seeds 1-8 will be hard fought and fun to watch. There are NO “gimmes” or “automatics,” take it from me. You can't win the Stanley Cup using smoke and mirrors.






Kevin Weekes will be blogging right here for the entire 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He'll also be periodically answering your questions, so submit them in the comments section below. Also check out Kevin's Official Site.