Gabriel Vilardi is not impressed with former teammate Blake Lizotte.
Winnipeg Jets forward Gabe Vilardi is nearing his return from an MCL sprain to his right knee suffered on October 17 in just his third game with the Jets.
Making matters worse, is the injury wasn't a 'freak accident', so he says, but rather a "stupid play" by a guy who apparently has a track record of similar moves.
Oddly enough, Vilardi was hurt in just his second shift of the opening period in his first game against his former Los Angeles Kings teammates from Canada Life Centre.
Screaming in pain while clutching his knee as he rolled around the ice was not his vision for his first game against many of the hockey players he knew best through the first few years of his professional career.
“It’s just bad timing," Vilardi shared. "I think it was like my second game (it was his third). I missed most of the preseason because of the flu that was going around."
"...But that’s part of playing hockey, everyone deals with those types of things. It is what it is. It takes time and you just have to go through the process.”
Sure, it wasn't pretty, and the recovery has not been much fun, but the 24-year-old isn't letting his feelings towards ex-teammate Blake Lizotte slide under the carpet.
“I think you could say that, but at the same time, no," he said, when asked if the play was a freak accident. "Personally, I think it’s a play that doesn’t need to happen. But what am I supposed to do now?”
Despite choosing not to share if he and Lizotte had spoken after the incident, Vilardi did go on record to bring up the track record of a guy he spent six seasons battling alongside with both Los Angeles and Ontario of the AHL.
"I've played with him a lot; he's done a lot of little things like that," Vilardi shared. "It's stuff that you guys say it was an awkward fall. It's not an awkward fall. It's someone pushing your feet out from the back, my knee gets caught under me and then he tackles me. It's that simple.
"I was pretty close to being gone for the rest of the season, so it's frustrating to look at stuff like that and think about it. Obviously, I don't think his intent was to hurt me, but you make plays like that, it's a stupid play - and it's frustrating to think that guy sits in the box for two minutes and then I have to deal with what I've dealt with for the past month and a half. But that’s life, now I’m here. I’m looking forward to playing again and just having fun. It’s tough when you’re by yourself.”
The Jets next face the Kings on December 13 in Los Angeles.
Lizotte's name might be familiar to Jets fans for another reason, as he was previously suspended last March for a cross-check to the face of defenceman Josh Morrissey. The result of that play was 17 stitches to the chin of the Jets' top blueliner.
"It hurts a lot and I needed to get off the ice," Morrissey said of Lizotte's cross-check back in March. "It was a careless play. I thought we were going to go and I took a cross-check to the chin. It could have been my teeth, so thankfully not.”
Now, with his recovery nearing completion, Vilardi will look to draw back into the lineup on Thursday, as the Jets host the Edmonton Oilers. He will be sporting a knee brace, but is just thankful to get back into action.
“It’s not ideal," he chuckled.
"You play hockey without a brace all your life and then you’re getting asked to put something under your gear that you’re not comfortable with. So, yeah, it is important to find the right brace and make sure it fits. For some guys it’s easier than others. Maybe I got a little bit of OCD. It bugs me. So there’s been that battle with the AT guys. But I have to wear it, they’ve been really good and helped me in getting the right brace.”
Whether or not he finds the scoresheet, contributes to the offence or just plays a minor role, the fifth-year pro is thankful to be back.
"I can’t have the expectations for me to come in tomorrow and dominate or anything," he said. "I’m just going to try my best.”