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Frustrated With Injury, Roberts Talks Retirement

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2008

TAMPA - As Gary Roberts walked out of the trainer's room Thursday morning, frustrated with an elbow injury that has been keeping him off the ice, he spoke of retirement after this season.

Chalking it up to a moment of weakness, the 42-year-old backed off the retirement talk - for the time being. Yes, he said he has thought many times about this year being his last, but he's not ready to commit to hanging them up after 21 seasons.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment situation, it's not something that I really wanted to bring up," said Roberts, who has missed the past eight games and 12 of the past 13. "I've been frustrated with the injuries, so is retirement something I've thought about? Sure, as I think anybody who is 42 would.

"But I was brought here to help this team, and that's what I plan to do and that's my focus. I'll revisit retirement after the season is over."

Last year with Pittsburgh, Roberts missed significant time with a broken leg and torn ankle tendon. Part of the reason he said he came back to play this year is because he was slowed by injuries that had nothing to with his age.

"Less than two years ago, I had 20 goals in 69 games with Florida and Pittsburgh in 2006-07," he said. "So my focus is trying to help this team win, whether that means when I'm on the ice or I'm hurt. This team has a lot going on right now, and they don't need my talk of retirement to be a distraction."

NUTS AND BOLTS

C Steven Stamkos logged 1:34 of ice time in the third period. ... C Jeff Halpern served as one of the team's alternate captains while D Andrej Meszaros, who had been wearing an "A" all season, had his removed. ... LW Evgeny Artyukhin was a healthy scratch. ... The next installment in the "Inside the Lightning" series titled "Giving Back," which focuses on the charity endeavors of the team and players, will debut on Sun Sports on Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m. following the game against the Florida Panthers. ... The league's roster freeze, which prevents players from being reassigned or traded until Dec. 27, goes into effect at midnight tonight.

QUICK TURNAROUND

With G Olie Kolzig sitting out Thursday an undisclosed upper-body injury, the team recalled G Karri Ramo from AHL Norfolk to serve as the backup to Mike Smith. Ramo played for Norfolk on Wednesday night in a 2-1 victory against Albany, stopping 26 shots.

Tampa Bay also reassigned C Zenon Konopka to Norfolk after he appeared in three games following his recall on Dec. 10.

BUGSY'S BACK

LW Ryan Malone returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing five games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. His impact on the ice is not measured just in points - he had nine points in seven games before getting injured.

In the nine games Malone has missed this season, the team's goals-against is nearly a goal per game higher (3.22) than when he plays (2.29).

In addition, the team's power play runs at 17.7 percent when he plays and 5 percent in the nine games he has missed, while the penalty kill is at 81.1 percent with him and 77.4 percent when he's out.

Erik Erlendsson

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