Blues Fuhr Out 4-6 Weeks

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 7, 1999 / 5:47 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

St. Louis Blues goalie Grant Fuhr will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks after a second operation on his right knee within a year.

The arthroscopic surgery Monday repaired cartilage damage. Since Jan. 1, when Fuhr was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 shots at Nashville, he is 1-4 with a 3.28 goals against average and an .832 save percentage.

For the season, Fuhr is 7-7-5, with a 2.69 goals against and an .876 save percentage, 53rd among 54 goalies who have played at least 10 games. Only Felix Potvin of the New York Islanders is worse at .863 in 11 games.

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Fuhr's start on Saturday, in which he gave up three third-period goals in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim, was his first in six games. Rookie Rich Parent started the previous five games - his first five career starts - as the Blues benched both Fuhr and backup Jamie McLennan.

Fuhr, who won five Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s and 1990, announced recently that he will retire after next season.

"Whether the knee is part of it, or not, Grant's play has not been as good this year as last year," coach Joel Quenneville said Sunday. "He's been uncomfortable with the way he's been feeling. This has probably been on his mind for some time. He felt it was best now to get it checked out and fixed. Hopefully, this makes it all better, physically and mentally."

On Saturday night, Fuhr, 36, said that his knee had been affecting his play.

"I'm not very good right now, and simply put, the leg's not allowing me to be," he said. "My leg is not iking me very much. Until we can get along, it's going to be a struggle."

Fuhr also underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage last Feb. 28 and missed eight games. It's the same knee that required major reconstructive surgery after Toronto's Nick Kypreos landed on him in the 1996 playoffs.

Although that injury was feared to be career-ending, Fuhr came back and played 73 games the following season. That was only six fewer than the previous season when he set an NHL iron man mark with 79 starts.