"No wonder Alex Burrows' goal scoring dried up in the second half of his season.

The Vancouver Canucks winger led the NHL team in scoring with 35 goals, but his left shoulder was getting progressively worse to the point in February where his arm would go numb if he followed through too high on a shot or raised his hands too high to brace against a check into the boards or cushion a fall to the ice.

Burrows, who had just three goals in his final 12 regular season games and three (two empty-netters) in 12 playoff games, had surgery 12 days ago to repair two tears in the labrum of his left shoulder.

Put simply, the labrum is a layer of cartilage that lines the shoulder joint. The surgery was performed by Canucks team physician Dr. Bill Regan and Dr. Robert Hawkins on June 3 in Vancouver.

The typical prognosis for shoulder labrum surgery is a rehabilitation of four to six months. Canucks foward Pavol Demitra had surgery to repair two tears to his rotator cuff last May and – after a second surgery was required in September – he didn't return to the lineup until mid-January. That was nearly eight months after the surgery, but it's sketchy to use that as a template for Burrows.

"I hope to be back for training camp," said Burrows on Tuesday, more hopeful than realistic. "I have a rehab program and I'll be working really hard at it."

It's more likely that, given no complications in his rehab, Burrows will more likely be back sometime in October at the earliest. The silver lining is that it will provide an opportunity for younger players, such as Michael Grabner and Cody Hodgson, to get more NHL experience."