"Hip resurfacing" surgery just plain sounds painful. Apparently it is different from "microfracture" hip surgery -- which is what Mike Sillinger had one year ago to end his season and severely delay the start of this one.

It's a surprise to no one following the team that Sillinger is officially done for the year. He was never right even when he finally came back, and his quick shelving afterward bade all kinds of bad signs -- ultimately resulting in this resurfacing surgery yesterday (Ouch.). One wonders if the additional surgery was made out of simple quality-of-life concern, or with an eye toward a possible comeback for the pending UFA?

Either way, he's been a quality multi-tool player who I had the pleasure of watching closely (however briefly) with two separate NHL teams. Players like him -- who mix speed, solid hands, and elite hockey intelligence -- do the little underappreciated things that made Sillinger a deadline trade target so many times. Coaches can never have enough guys they can trust (and who can win faceoffs, to boot) during crunch time.

This sure looks like the slow end we feared, but it doesn't change what a quality NHL career this 1989 1st-round pick (Detroit, 11th overall) put together.

The other crazy thing about this all-too-rare full injury update from the club? The list of remaining injuries is gory -- and typical of the club's injury list all season long:

• Defenseman Chris Campoli, strained groin, day-to-day, has missed last two games
• Right wing Trent Hunter, lacerated hand, day-to-day, has missed last two games
• Left wing Sean Bergenheim, strained side, day-to-day, has missed last four games
• Defenseman Freddy Meyer, strained groin, day-to-day, has missed last six games
• Center Doug Weight, lower-leg injury, expected to be out 1-2 weeks, has missed last seven games
• Goaltender Joey MacDonald, strained groin, expected to be out 1-3 weeks, has missed last four games
• Defenseman Andy Sutton, broken foot, expected to be out 6-8 weeks, has missed last 15 games
• Center Mike Sillinger, hip injury, out for season
• Goaltender Rick DiPietro, swelling in knee, out for season

Other than that, everything is just freaking fine, thanks.