Komets' Boucher deliberating on possible surgery

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Komets goaltender Nick Boucher wants one more opinion before deciding if he needs surgery on his hips.

After meeting with Komets General Manager David Franke on Tuesday, goaltender Nick Boucher is meeting one more time with medical specialists before deciding if he needs surgery on his hips. Boucher has been battling pain from cam impingements where bony growths affect how the balls of the hips fit in their sockets.

``I fully understand all of it,'' Franke said. ``I've talked to a lot of the doctors and everybody involved quite a bit. Nick is going to talk to the doctor one more time and make a final decision.''

There is no time frame on when the decision will come, but the announcement will come from the hockey club, Franke said.

``I haven't made a final call yet on what I'm going to do,'' Boucher said. ``I will speak once again to the specialist and go from there.''

Surgery could cost Boucher half the season, but going without the surgery would require cortisone shots and possibly lead to more damage.

In other news, Franke said the Komets have been talking with several players from last year's team. Along with contract offers out to J.M. Rizk, Stephon Thorne, Chris Auger and Frankie DeAngelis, the Komets have also talked with defensemen Brent Henley and Daniel Maggio.

``They are just preliminary talks to see if we are both interested (we both are),'' Henley said in an email. ``There's been no offers or anything official as of yet.''

Including last year's players, Franke said the Komets have eight offers out at this time, but that could change daily.

He also said the Komets are still looking for an affiliation with an American Hockey League team, but that may take more time. If the Komets do sign an agreement, it will be more of a secondary affiliation than a primary. That means the AHL team may already have a primary affiliation with another ECHL team.

The Komets had pretty good success with secondary affiliations during the 1990s with Detroit, Winnipeg, Florida and Buffalo. Those agreements brought players like Guy Dupuis, Kelly Hurd, Ian Boyce, Max Middendorf, Lee Davidson and slew of goaltenders.

``Now that the draft is over and free agency is settling down some, a lot of people in AHL and NHL are taking some time off in this time of July,'' Franke said. ``I don't have a time frame. Something like this could happen at any time. It just depends on if somebody wants to get something done.''

Another veteran may be moving on as well. Center Leo Thomas is considering whether to become captain and assistant coach with Pensacola of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The IceFlyers will be coached by former Komets assistant Gary Graham this season.

Thomas played the last four seasons with the Komets, earning three championship rings, scoring 86 goals and 163 points in 236 games. The sides are getting close, but the final paperwork has not been signed yet. An announcement could come later this week.

bsebring@news-sentinel.com