Kurtis Foster voted Masterton finalist: "Very excited," thanks Wild; Lemaire "retires"

The Twin Cities chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association tried last year, and it didn't work, so the Tampa/St. Pete chapter got it done a year later.

Former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster has been voted a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy, the award given annually to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

The PHWA has voted Tampa Bay's Foster, San Jose's Jed Ortmeyer and Washington's Jose Theodore as finalists. The winner will be named June 23 at the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas.

In 2008, Foster's NHL career was nearly shattered when he was hit from behind into the end boards while chasing an icing. His femur snapped in half. After a 10-hour operation, Foster began an exhaustive, painful rehab process.

One of the classiest moves ever by former Wild GM Doug Risebrough was re-signing Foster after the 2007-08 season. He didn't have to do that. But he wanted to give Foster the motivation to rehab, to have something to work toward, to relieve the stress. Well, Foster didn't let Risebrough down for the gesture.

Many doubted he'd ever play the sport again, but he worked his you know what off valiantly and worked his way back into the lineup at the end of last season, even scoring in the finale in Columbus.

He wasn't re-signed by the Wild, but Brian Lawton brought Foster to Tampa. He scored eight goals and 42 points in 71 games for the Lightning this season and undoubtedly got his career back on track. He'd love to re-sign in Tampa, but if it's not there, he'll have no problem finding a job this offseason.

Congrats to Foster, one of the truly nicest guys I've ever covered.

Foster is "very excited." I corresponded with him and he said he's "very honored to be recognized for such an award. I can't thank the Wild or Lightning enough for giving me the opportunities to rehab and continue my career."

As an update, the New Jersey Devils have reported Jacques Lemaire retired and will stay with the organization.

Jacques made very clear the other day he still loved coaching and wanted to continue coaching the Devils. Now he's not a few days later? Weird. It was reported after Game 5 that Devils GM Lou Lamoriello chewed out the coaches and smashed a bottle of jelly on the dressing-room wall in Philly. So obviously something happened behind the scenes after the season was over.

As a refresher, here's the big piece I did from Foster's hospital room a few weeks after the terrible incident.

April 1, 2008 Tuesday
Metro Edition

`It just snapped apart';
The Wild's Kurtis Foster, early in the long road to recovery from a devastating broken femur suffered last month, looks back on the injury and ahead to the future.

BYLINE: MICHAEL RUSSO, STAFF WRITER

SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 1C

LENGTH: 1296 words

The 26-year-old Wild defenseman talked in great detail about the injury, the 10-hour surgery that followed, the excruciating, twice-a-day physical therapy that's begun.

And Foster talked nervously -- yet optimistically -- about the grueling, four- to eight-month rehab ahead of him and his uncertain future in hockey, his voice cracking at times.

"Mikko [Koivu] came in Saturday and was here for four hours, and he saw my leg and he couldn't believe the things I was doing. He had to turn his face at times," Foster said. "Until you actually come in and see for yourself what it's like, you don't actually realize what I'm going through.

"You don't actually see that my legs are fading away in front of me. Or that I'm in my bed all the time. Or for me to get in my walker and go across the hall and back, I'm done for hours. I'm toast. It's amazing what this does to you.

"I mean, 12 days ago, I could go up and down the ice however many times and it would take me a long time to get tired," Foster continued. "Now, I go out the door, around the corner, and I have to sit for five minutes because I'm sweating and out of breath."

Leave it to Wes Walz to lift Foster's spirits even by not being in the room. The retired Wild center visited Saturday and gave Foster an autograph picture that reads, "Put your feet up and stay awhile, Wes Walz!"

"He came in and said, `I hear you're a big fan,'" Foster said, laughing.

His femur `snapped in half'

Foster's collision with Sharks forward Torrey Mitchell has been viewed thousands of times on YouTube, but Foster didn't have the stomach to watch. That is, until Sunday night when he accidentally saw it during "Minnesota Wild Country" on KSTC-TV (Ch. 45).

"Everybody tells me the sound of me hitting the boards was like nothing they've ever heard before," Foster said.

"All I remember is my kneecap taking everything," Foster said. "Once I realized my head, neck and back were OK, I tried to move my leg and in my mind it was moving, but when I looked at my leg, it wasn't moving. So I knew something was really wrong.

"[Trainer] Donny [Fuller] got to me, and the first thing I said was, `I think I broke my femur.' I don't know why I intuitively knew that. The femur is the biggest bone in your body. It shouldn't break."

After a 12-minute delay, Foster was taken off by stretcher and rushed to a San Jose hospital, where everything "was a blur."

"When they moved me from the gurney to the table and put my leg in traction, I was in agony," Foster said. "They were sticking needles everywhere, people were coming in and out, I didn't know which doctor was which, who was who.

"[Assistant athletic trainer Mike Vogt] cut all my equipment off, and I finally asked Mike, `I don't mean this to be weird, but can you hold my hand?' Everything kind of released, and I calmed down."

"It just snapped apart in the middle, and there was a break on the top and bottom," said Foster, who also cracked his patella. "I've had three people tell me that this is the worst break they've ever seen in a person's leg."

Orthopedic surgeon William Stearns operated on Foster for 10 hours.

"The doctor told me he's never performed surgery on somebody with so much muscle in his legs," Foster said. "So it took him a while to get through all that. Then, he had to drill from the top of my hip through bone marrow to make sure the rod could get through."

Sharks were `phenomenal'

By the time Foster awoke the next morning, the Wild had flown in his fiance, Steph, who was vacationing in Palm Springs, Calif., with Nick Schultz's wife, Jessica.

President and CEO Greg Jamison visited with a gift basket full of goodies and magazines. General Manager Doug Wilson spent an hour with Foster and gave Foster and his fiance full access to his secretary, Rosemary Tebaldi.

"Every day she drove my fiance to and from the hospital. She was phenomenal, even bringing in lunch and dinner," Foster said.

Wilson also sent over the Sharks' information technology director so Foster could watch Wild games on a laptop.

"Doug worded it, `I would expect this from another team if this happened to one of my players,'" Foster said. "We talked hockey and life. He told me how broken up Mitchell was, how he was in tears in the penalty box as they carted me off."

Mitchell called Foster the next day.

"I tell him that, but I finally see the play last night and I've had so many people talk to me about it. I went on my Facebook[.com account], and saw there's a group where they're petitioning for no-touch icing with a picture of me.

"I think my dad said it best: It was innocent and unintentional but avoidable. If we both reach for the puck, nothing happens. But I don't think he reached for the puck, which is where the problem comes into play. ... I think they need to look into changing the rule."

Hopes to walk down the aisle

Foster was relieved Saturday when Walz told him it was reported in the Star Tribune that Wild GM Doug Risebrough plans to re-sign Foster to give him motivation to rehab and to relieve "that stress."

"I won't lie, I was real worried about that," Foster said. "I said to Steph, `I might have to get healthy and work my way into another contract or hopefully get another chance from somebody else.'

Foster said the first thing he asked Dr. Stearns was, `Will I play again?' and he said, `Yeah, if you rehab right, your leg will be stronger than it ever was before.' It's hard to think of that now when I can't move."

But Foster's range of motion is 30 degrees. Two days ago, it was at 15.

Foster hopes to be home in a week, and hopes to be at Xcel Energy Center for Game 1 of the playoffs next week.

"I just want to cheer the guys on and see the guys," Foster said. "I'm a realist. When I look at the calendar, if I ever could get back where I'm skating by training camp, that'd be amazing. But at least I know now there's no rush.

"I just want to get home and be comfortable and go to the bathroom by myself and be able to get off the couch and out of bed by myself.