As it was reported on Twitter by multiple sources, Simon made another great progress in order to get back to playing. He was cleared for contact. This great news has been first reported by François Gagnon from La Presse. Now I’m bringing you the translation of the original French article!

In addition to their 4-2 victory over the Coyotes, which gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the series for the 3rd time a row, the team had another reason to cheer.

Completely recovered from the concussion that kept him away from the game since December 26th, Simon Gagné is getting closer to returning to the ice.

It’s been 3 weeks since Simon Gagné has taken up intensive training, and he just got the green light for a return to the game. Still staying at Los Angeles, where he skates with the Kings’ “Taxi Squad”, the 32 years old left winger will be able to make and take hits starting Monday.

Even though he will not join his teammates in Phoenix, he might put his jersey on for the end of the Western Conference Finals against the Coyotes. The team’s staff will make their decision based on the length of the series and on how well Gagne takes hits during training.

A reliable source told me that the original plan, which was to postpone the Quebecer’s return to the autumn, was up for debate.

“He’s been working very hard for 3 weeks already. Even though he couldn’t get involved in the physical part of the game, Simon had to work hard on his skating and physical condition. These 3 weeks were more demanding than training camp or regular season training. It was very intense but he went through it without a scratch. It’s really a good news. It’s very positive. Encouraging”, said our source.

Even though it’s unlikely, returning to the game against the Coyotes would be a tremendous victory for Gagné: first of all, it would prove the predictions wrong. Second, he would come back against the team that put him down during the season. It was during a game against the Coyotes, at the Staples Center of Los Angeles, that Gagne was hurt from a shoulder hit to the face from Coyotes’ Raffi Torrès.

Torrès is still serving his 25 games suspension for his dangerous and malicious hit on Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa during the first round of the playoffs. Raffi Torres is criticizing NHL’s chief player disciplinarian’s (Brendan Shanahan) decision.

Simon Gagne, who has joined the Kings last summer as a free agent, had several concussions over his career. Two of his ten seasons with the Philadephia Flyers were seriously shortened by some serious hits to the head (especially the 2007-2008 season, during which he only played 25 games) that took a long time to recover from. That’s not counting some others that no one saw, or worse, that weren’t treated patiently enough.

“No one knows how many concussions Simon had. The important thing is that the Kings gave him time to recover and get back in shape. We’re not rushing anything, but the fact that he’s this close to returning to the game is an excellent news”, our source insisted.

Before he got injured on December 26th, Gagne had 7 goals and 17 points in 34 games. He was the Flyers first round pick (22nd pick overall) in 1998, and had 283 goals and 581 points in 761 games in the NHL, he has 37 goals and 59 points from 105 playoffs games. Gagne also won Olympic Gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, and represented Canada in Turin 4 years later.

source: La Presse; big thank you to my friend Audrey for the translation from French!

After a few weeks of no news or updates, here is a translation of a new French article for you. Enjoy!

If the Los Angeles Kings’s GM, Dean Lombardi, expresses doubt on the possibility of his return for this year, the forward Simon Gagné is not ready to say his season is over. Now lightly training, the Sainte-Foy native, healing from a concussion, hopes to wear his uniform again before the end of the playoffs.

Injured after a hard check, taken against the Coyotes on December 26, Gagné just started skating again a couple of weeks ago. He still hasn’t taken part in practice with his teammates, who just sent the champion of the regular season, Vancouver Canucks, on vacation. Even if it’s frustrating for him to watch the team from the press box, the 32 year old left winger, with a long history of concussions, doesn’t want to take any risks.
“Overall, it’s going well. I started training a bit. It’s going the right way. Now, the doctors are much more careful and take their time before allowing a player to come back at the game. The doctors are much more aware of the problem. In my case, it’s very important to take my time. I won’t make the same mistake again, when I went back to play when I was only at 90%. As I am now.” said the ex-Rempart, who had 7 goals and 10 assists in 34 games before being injured.

If it was just up to him, Gagné would have been back in the lineup couple weeks ago. But his situation would not allow it

“There’s no really time line with this kind of injury. There’s some steps you have to go through before being able to play again. I would have like to come back before the end of the season and be ready for the playoffs but it didn’t happen. We never know. If the team goes far in playoffs, the season can last 2 more months. It could give me time to get ready and get back at 100%.” hopes the no. 12 of the Kings.

Kings are used to a tight game.

Meanwhile, the forward has all his time to appreciate the show. His team mates, who fought to get a spot, entered the playoffs with the wind at their back. “We played very good hockey, at the end. A team like us, who enter the playoffs with the momentum, it can be dangerous. We’re already used to this kind of tight game, the one goal game. We put ourselves in the position to move forward. We never know what are chances are,” said Gagne.

The elimination of the Canucks in only five games boosted the confidence of the young team, who got the ex-Flyers, Richards and Carter, this season. “The confidence is good but we have to take some and leave some. We won against a very, very good team and now, we’re going to play against the St. Louis Blues. The team who has played the best in the NHL since December. We have another good challenge in front of us. It will be important to stay grounded,” judged Gagné, who credited part of the Californian team’s success in playoffs to the performance of goalie Jonathan Quick.
 

source: Le Soleil; big thank you to my friend Vee for the translation from French!

A great video of Simon (with his son Matthew) walking around the Manhattan Beach and being interviewed by Yanick Lévesque was featured on the RSD television two days ago. Now you can finally watch it here too! Enjoy! (I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more if you speak French though.)

Hello guys!

So it seems there’s the ‘quiet phase’ on the Gagne front again so to ease my waiting for some updates I changed the website layout. Not gonna lie, it’s been a real pain to adjust it to its current look so I hope you like it. Any comments or feedback is the most welcome!

-Katie

Simon spoke to Yanick Lévesque of RDS yesterday. The interview is in French so if there is some good soul that could provide me/us with an English transcript of the interview, that’d be awesome Anyway, the video is worth watching either way. Whether you speak French or not. Enjoy!

Here are some wonderful news for those of you who were concerned about Simon‘s career and about its possible end. In an article published by Renaud Lavoie, Gagne clearly says no to a possible retirement.

Good news concerning Simon Gagné. The Kings’ forward hasn’t played since December 26th because of a concussion. Even though he hasn’t started to practice with his teammates yet, he knows he’s getting well enough to get rid of certain doubts. “I know now that I’ll come back to the game and that my career isn’t over”, Gagné told me on the phone.

The news is big, because when he got injured against the Coyotes, several rumors spread about the fact that he would have to end his career. He won’t.

He has been skating for a month now and he’ll continue to do so during the following weeks. Will he come back before the season ends? As of today, no one knows exactly. One thing is sure though: there’s no way to stop skating and to stop hoping, because if the Kings go on a playoff run, it’s still possible for the Sté-Foy forward to be able to play.

Gagne claims to feel very good, but he won’t take unnecessary risks until he’s at 100%.

source: RDS.ca; big thank you to my friend Audrey for the translation from French