Caron in, Murray out, and more

Published 3:29 pm Thursday, December 1, 2011

Bullet points today as I’m in a bit of a hurry:

– New Silvertips defenseman Josh Caron has arrived, and he practiced with the team for the first time this afternoon. I haven’t been able to speak to Everett general manager Doug Soetaert about the deal yet because he’s on the scouting/recruiting trail. But Tips coach Mark Ferner said he hopes adding an experienced defender like Caron will help the team spend less time in its own end, and that Caron should be a positive influence both on and off the ice.

– Caron’s presence is helpful this weekend because captain Ryan Murray will not make his return during this weekend’s two away games. Murray, who’s been out since Oct. 19 with a sprained ankle, was hoped to be ready to return for these games. However, he had a bit of a setback and will be given a few more days to recover. It shouldn’t be long, however, as Murray looked fine during practice today.

– Winger Zach McPhee will be out for a while. McPhee underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee this morning. The good news is the scope didn’t reveal any major damage. The bad news is McPhee will miss another month-plus recovering from the surgery.

– On the positive side, it was good to see center Manraj Hayer back on the ice for the first time since he suffered a broken fibula during training camp. Hayer only spent a few minutes on the ice after practice was over, and he’s not expected back any time soon. However, it was good to see he’s made it to this point, as it’s been a long road back for him.

– Goaltender Austin Lotz is finally official. First, he started using his new Silvertip-colored pads in recent weeks. Well, now he has the last piece as he now has a painted mask. The design depicts a bear claw tearing through the mask. It looks pretty good.

– Finally, after close to a month’s hiatus, the live blog returns for Friday’s game at Portland, so be here to be part of the fun.