"Pavol Demitra was so concerned about his wife Maria's health the last two weeks that he had 911 on speed dial and said he couldn't get a moment's sleep.

The veteran Vancouver Canucks forward returned to the team Wednesday after test results showed his wife was out of danger. Demitra would not disclose the exact nature of the illness but did say it was a recurrence of issues she had prior to the Olympics.

At the time, it was reported she had a bad reaction related to a prescription drug, perhaps due to a heart condition. Maria is 34 and never had any health issues prior to these recent episodes.

"I think it was very tough and very hard on my family," said the 35-year-old Slovak. "Obviously you guys all know my wife had problems before the Olympics and everybody was hoping everything was fine. But those problems came back. When we got the results [Tuesday], there was a lot of relief in our family. I think she is going to need a little bit longer recovery to get back to her normal life but everything is fine and she is out of danger. I don't think she needs surgery now.

"So I'm glad to be back and start working out and hopefully get back into shape and get back to playing."

Demitra missed three games prior to the Olympic break because of Maria's health but then starred for Slovakia during the Games when she appeared to be fine. Demitra led the Olympics in scoring and had seven points in 11 games for the Canucks before Maria's latest setback. "