Rick DiPietro gets his place back in the roster as New York Islanders remove him from Injury Reserves
Rick DiPietro, an American ice hockey professional goaltender, who was sidelined for last 8 months, has been removed from the injury reserves list and put back in the roster.
DiPietro was on injury reserves list since 3rd December of 2011.
The move has come at a time when it was least expected to come. Because of possibilities of a lock out like the 2004-2005 season, teams are expected to be very careful while making signings or taking such decisions and this is the reason that, this move
is becoming a cause of laughter.
Hockey writer for New York Times and former Public Relation (PR) executive with New York Islanders, Chris Botta found this move funny because he thinks season may not start this time. He tweeted about this move on his official twitter account,
http://www.twitter.com/ChrisBottaNHL,
“News of the NYI taking DiPietro off IR this first day of August is funny, of course, because the season may not start on time”.
Botta also wrote on his twitter account that if DiPietro was on Injury Reserves when lockout began, Islanders would have paid him, as he tweeted,
“If Rick DiPietro was on IR when a lockout began, Islanders would have to pay him. Hence today's very official announcement”.
30-year-old DiPietro has got a huge contract, which will keep him at New York Islanders until 2021 and will get paid $4.5 million every year for it, which is a very big amount considering DiPietro’s recent performance, his injuries and the time he has played
since 2008.
The 6-foot-1, 190 pounder goaltender much make just 8 appearances in the last season, 26 in the 2010-2011 season, 8 in the 2009-2010 season and 5 in the 2008-2009 season. He had a hip injury and surgery in 2008 when he suffered an injury, just a night before
NHL All-Star game. During 2008-2009 season, he suffered a knee injury which resulted post-arthroscopic surgical swelling in his right knee.
Winthrop, Massachusetts’ native’s last injury was during last season when he injured his groin which resulted in him being put into injury reserves list.
Selected 1st overall in the 2000 NHL draft by New York Islanders, DiPietro has also represented U.S.A international team at many competitions as he played for them in 2006 Winter Olympic Games and 2001 and 2005 World Hockey Championships.
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