Kris Versteeg to undergo hip surgery, out long-term

There’s a bit more information available about Kris Versteeg’s injury, and it’s not all that good. The team announced today in a tweet that Versteeg is considered month-to-month, and a story by Flames.com’s George Johnson revealed that Versteeg will undergo surgery for a hip labrum issue.

These revelations lead to a handful of questions regarding the Flames’ lineup and Versteeg’s future.

The team is using the term “month-to-month,” and when speaking to Johnson Brad Treliving seemed to avoid guessing a timeline. Googling “hip labrum surgery recovery time” produces a link from Houston Methodist Hospital:

The general range found on Google for any kind of hip labrum surgery is roughly between three and six months, which would optimistically project Versteeg’s return in March or, on the other end, seeing him miss the remainder of the season entirely.

For the time being, the Flames have brought up Garnet Hathaway.

Now, before you conclude that Hathaway is now a full-time NHLer, all we know right now is he’s part of that amorphous blob of fourth line bodies that also includes Curtis Lazar, Matt Stajan, Troy Brouwer and Freddie Hamilton. There’s no guarantee that Hathaway plays every game, and if he’s not great he can always be returned to the AHL.

While Hathaway is waiver-eligible this season, only three days have passed on the NHL roster since he cleared waivers to open the season – players are waiver exempt for 10 games played or 30 days on the NHL roster cumulatively after clearing – so he can still be sent back to the minors.

In short? The Flames still have a ton of roster flexibility, so don’t get too married to Hathaway quite yet.

The short answer regarding Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), is “yes, but…“. LTIR cap relief is complicated, but the gist is this: teams can go over the cap by the difference between their cap space and the value of the contract for the player going on LTIR.

Right now, the Flames have roughly $2.338 million in cap space and Versteeg’s deal is worth $1.95 million, so there’s no reason to move him to the LTIR.

But later in the season, when the Flames have potentially made moves and need the space, it’s completely likely that they’ll place Versteeg on LTIR so they can add a player.

The LTIR is only a salary cap compliance mechanism, while the “regular” IR is what opens up roster spots.

Since Versteeg is already on the IR and Hathaway was called up for his vacated spot, the Flames’ roster is already at the 23-player maximum (two goalies, seven defensemen and 14 forwards).

That said, one thing that could happen if it seems like Versteeg is going to definitely be out for the season is the Flames could use one of their four “regular” recalls after the trade deadline to effectively expand the size of their roster.