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Lightning to let Drulia go

The 33-year-old forward plans to concentrate on healing his aching back before trying to play again.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2001

Before Stan Drulia makes any decisions about trying to play hockey next season, he must fix his ailing lower back. But even if the 33-year-old forward is pain free, his playing days with the Lightning appear to be over.

Drulia said Tuesday the team will not make a qualifying offer to retain his rights, which will make him an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires June 30. Assistant general manager Jay Feaster confirmed this through spokesman Jay Preble.

"They're going with young guys; it's pretty obvious," Drulia said from his home in Tampa. "They're working for down the road when they're going to be a very, very good hockey team. It looks like I'll be looking elsewhere, but I might not even play."

Drulia, one of the Lightning's better penalty killers, missed the season's final 18 games because of bulging discs he said resulted from the constant pounding of a 13-year pro career, the past two with Tampa Bay.

He will have a third, and final, cortisone treatment today, with two shots going directly to the nerves between the affected bones. It will be two weeks before he knows if the treatments have had an effect or if maybe it is time to retire.

If Drulia is pain free, he will skate.

"I'm going to see if I can hurt it," Drulia said.

If he succeeds, Drulia said, he might consider surgery, though that would be a last resort.

If he retires, Drulia, who was a stabilizing force in the locker room of the league's youngest team, said he would like to remain in the organization as a scout or minor-league coach.

"I want to play," said Drulia, who played 24 games for the Lightning during its inaugural season, 1992-93. "But I have a lot of issues with my back before I can consider playing or not playing. My back is going to tell me what to do."

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