by Monte StewartFiled under: Canucks, NHL Fights, NHL Discipline
The Vancouver Canucks granted troubled centre Rick Rypien an indefinite leave of absence Thursday.The Canucks announced that the leave was "for personal matters" but declined to divulge details.
"(Rypien) is a valued member of the organization and the club will continue to support Rick in every way possible," said a team news release. "No further comment will be made by the club on this matter."
The leave comes after Rypien, 26, returned from a six-game suspension Nov. 6 for tussling with a fan in Minnesota.
"It's a real eye-opener for me, so I think I'm going to come back real strong and better than ever," said Rypien a few days after the suspension was handed down. "I think I'm going to be more focused and more determined to play the game that I love the most."
Following his return, he played sparingly in six consecutive games, recording one assist for his lone point of the season. He was scratched from Vancouver's past two contests.
He has played nine games this season while racking up 31 minutes in penalties and sporting a minus-five mark. The most ice time he received in a game was 7:58 on Oct. 15 against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Coleman, Alta., native is known for fighting bigger and heavier opponents - and often winning. The leave continues a difficult stretch in which he has battled injuries and personal matters the past two seasons. He was limited to 69 games in 2009-10 and just 12 in 2008-09.
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