Travis Zajac News

DeBoer said he expects Travis Zajac (Achilles) back "some time before Christmas. Could be in three or four weeks. Could be in five or six."

Zajac continues his long and arduous road to recovery. Considering this injury marked his first in his NHL career, he should remain healthy for the remaining 40-50 games. When he does return, expect him to reunite with captain Zach Parise.

Travis Zajac
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said center Travis Zajac, who is recovering from Aug. 18 surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, will soon be able to begin skating.

Doesn't look like Zajac will return next month but he is now able to get back into shape. Expect the team's top center to return at some point in December.

Travis Zajac
“Right now I can’t do much. At first it was keeping the leg elevated in bed and watching a lot of movies and TV shows,” he said. “I can get around a little bit now, but there’s still not a lot I can do. Watching hockey on TV and trying to follow what’s going on.”

Zajac likely won't be back on the ice until after Christmas. The Devils will surely miss his 13 goals and 44 points as last season in addition to his penalty killing. Look for Jacob Josefson to center the second line in his absence.

Travis Zajac
Since then, the 26-year-old Winnipeg native has talked to other players who had Achilles injuries to get an idea of the road that’s ahead of him and got differing stories. For some, the three-month estimate was about right. Others needed four to six months.

Four-to-six months seems somewhat dire but Zajac likely takes longer than the initial three-month recovery time. It sounds as if the 26-year-old will miss at least a third of a season with a possibility to missing more. Not a bad option to store on the IR but don't overpay for damaged goods.

Travis Zajac