Vancouver Canucks defenceman Sami Salo has been sidelined indefinitely by a torn Achilles tendon, the National Hockey League club announced Friday.
The Canucks did not specify which tendon was injured in a brief statement that said the 35-year-old Finn was hurt while training. He is set to enter the last year of a contract worth 3.5 million dollars.
In seven seasons with Vancouver, Salo has developed into a key player on the penalty kill and power play units. He had nine goals and 19 assists last season and has 81 goals in 655 career NHL games.
But Salo has never played a full season in 11 NHL campaigns due to injuries.
The Canucks have a surplus of defenders and Salo's injury could influence how the team decides which might be expendable. Vancouver is already over next season's NHL salary cap of 59.4 million dollars by about one million dollars.
Copyright 2010 AFP American Edition
