Jaroslav Halak to Have Surgery for Sports Hernia

According to reports, New York Islanders’ goaltender Jaroslav Halak will require offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Halak suffered a groin injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Mar. 8, which held him out of the lineup for the remainder of the season, including playoffs. Despite skating in full gear while the Islanders were facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in round two, Halak did not return to action.

Backup goaltender Thomas Greiss replaced Halak down the stretch and in the playoffs. He performed admirably, posting a .923 save-percentage and 2.46 goals-against average through 11 postseason games.

Halak should be fully recovered by training camp. However, there are now questions about whether or not he’ll still be in net for New York for the 2016-17 NHL season. He has one year remaining on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $4.5 million.

Halak played 36 games for the Isles during the 2015-16 campaign with a record of 18-13-1. He finished the season with a .919 save-percentage and 2.30 goals-against average.