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Florida Panthers forward Kris Versteeg will miss the remainder of the 2013 season as he will require season-ending knee surgery, according to head coach Kevin Dineen on Thursday afternoon.
Versteeg sustained the injury during Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning when he was hit by forward Radko Gudas. While there appeared to be no malicious intent on the play, Gudas appeared to make contact with Versteeg's knee, which resulted in the Panthers forward crumbling to the ice in a great deal of pain.
This development is the bookend on what has been a frustrating season for Versteeg. Having played in only 10 games this season, the 26-year-old forward had been dealing with rib and groin issues prior to suffering the knee injury.
For the Panthers, this is merely a continuation of their struggles with the injury bug. Entering competition on Thursday night, the team had a combined 109 man games lost due to injury. By comparison, their opponent on Thursday, the Boston Bruins, have only lost seven man games this season.
In addition, this weakens their forward group further as Stephen Weiss will also miss the remainder of the season due to surgery.
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