The St. Louis Blues are hoping center Jori Lehtera will make it to their season opener after he had a successful ankle surgery that will make him miss six to eight weeks of action.
The Blues made the announcement last Monday that Lehtera underwent a surgery on Aug. 4.
Lehtera suffered the injury after getting hit with a puck on his ankle during the last week of the 2014-15 regular season.
Despite the injury, the 27-year-old center continued to play as St. Louis reached the playoffs but were eliminated in six games by the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
In a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Blues did not resort to surgery immediately and decided to go with rest and rehabilitation.
Lehtera was doing well during everyday activity and off-ice workouts, according to the report; but he again felt the injury when he skated in his home country of Finland.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they were hoping the injury would heal by time. However, Lehtera was still feeling sore, so they opted for surgery for him to be ready to play for St. Louis once the season opens.
The Blues are set to begin their season at home against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 8.
Lehtera was in his first National Hockey League (NHL) season last season and played splendidly for the Blues.
He played in 75 regular season games in the 2014–15 season and had 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists).
Despite suffering the injury in the last week of the regular season, Lehtera managed to play five games in their playoff run against the Wild but he only had two assists.
Because of his great performance in the 2014–15 season, the Blues signed him last July 1 to a three-year extension deal, which was reportedly worth $14.1 million.
