Alexander and such

Published 5:34 pm Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I had an interesting chat with new (!) Tips defenseman Mike Alexander today. I got to hear his take on the whole saga that saw him traded to Lethbridge as part of the Kyle Beach deal, only to be traded back four days later. The full story is running in tomorrow morning’s paper, but suffice it to say he’s happy to be back.

One of the more confusing aspects of this whole situation is that the two sides had different takes on why the Alexander portion of the deal was nullified. The Tips said Alexander decided he didn’t want to play in Lethbridge. The Hurricanes said Alexander wasn’t physically ready to play because of a concussion. Well, Alexander says his heart wasn’t in Lethbridge, and although he does have a concussion he’s expected to be ready to play by the weekend. So judge things as you will.

In other injury news, defenseman Shayne Brown’s setback wasn’t so much one incident but rather a continuing buildup of discomfort with his hip flexor. The decision was to shut Brown down and let him have his surgery so he’ll be ready to go at the start of next season.

Also, left wing Daniel Bartek has his foot immobilized. Bartek took a shot off the foot in Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Spokane. He finished the game, but did not play Sunday. He’ll be re-evaluated after the swelling subsides.