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Panthers’ Clemmensen could miss three weeks after knee surgery

clemmensengetty

Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon announced that backup goalie Scott Clemmensen underwent minor knee surgery that will probably sideline him for about three weeks, the Miami Herald’s George Richards reports.

The Panthers were already approaching a 2013-14 season with a questionable (and dirt-cheap) goalie tandem in Clemmensen and Jacob Markstrom, yet this development made Tallon admit to Richards that depth at the position is a legitimate concern.

Michael Houser stands as Markstrom’s current backup if Clemmensen, 36, needs to extend his rehab into the regular season.

Assistant GM Mike Santos intimated that the team might look for outside help in net back in July, so perhaps this might re-energize such a search.

For those who wonder if this might open a door for Jose Theodore to return, Richards reports that the veteran wouldn’t be interested in a professional tryout, so the Panthers would probably need to hand him a full contract to draw his services.

The Panthers have a little wiggle room with Markstrom, 23, as his contract is two-way in 2013-14 before going one-way the following season.

Clemmensen has served as a No.2 in Florida for four seasons already, putting up nice numbers for a backup from 2009-10 to 2011-12 before an abysmal 2013 campaign in which he went 3-7-2 with a .874 save percentage.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins