The good news from the image below is that Lightning center Jeff Halpern was able to skate off the ice guided by teammate Paul Martin and Lightning trainer Tom Mulligan. The bad news, Halpern was only able to skate off on one leg after sustaining a serious knee injury Tuesday while representing the United States in a game vs. Canada at the World Hockey Championships.

After flying to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Halpern was diagnosed with a ruptured ACL of his right knee in addition to a Grade III sprain to his MCL and a slight tear to the lateral meniscus. He will wait 4-6 weeks to allow the MCL injury to heal before undergoing reconstructive surgery on the ACL tendon. He is expected to miss 5-6 months of action from the time of the surgery on the ACL, which means the earliest Halpern would be ready to return to action would be later December to early January.

Halpern was serving as team captain for the U.S. under head coach John Tortorella.

Halpern joins teammates Vinny Lecavalier and Paul Ranger, who both had shoulder surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews last month on torn labrums, who face extensive rehabilitation this summer in order to be ready for the start of training camp.

Now, about that crazy rumor I mentioned in the headline . . . . . . . . . . . .

Are you ready for this? With Paul Maurice being fired today by the Toronto Maple Leafs a wildly, yet often unreliable, rumor web site is stating that Lightning coach John Tortorella is believed to be in the running to take over the job. And to top that off, general manager Jay Feaster is set to join him and the duo that led Tampa Bay to a 2004 Stanley Cup championship can return glory to the big TO. Pay no mind to the fact that Brian Burke remains Toronto’s No. 1 choice to take over the franchise, even if it means the Leafs have to wait a year. Let us also not forget that both Tortorella and Feaster remain under contract, Feaster for two more years and Tortorella for one.

Now, the only thing that even makes me flinch an inch here is a statement from Leafs’ interim GM Cliff Fletcher today when he said the team would be making major news in the next six to 10 weeks. That just happens to fall into the time frame for when the sale process is supposed to be completed and approved by the league.

But, honestly, think about this for a minute. While Tortorella is obvioulsy on some shaky ground at this point in regards to his apparent attempted resignation and the changing of his mind on the matter, can’t see him fitting in as the coach of the Leafs. He wasn’t too keen on talking to a pair of local reporters who followed the team, let alone dealing with a traveling media that number 20 or more. (And yes, that is absolutely a factor for somebody who will be coveted by many teams should he become available). I just don’t see Tortorella as a good fit in that situation.

And at this point, I just don’t see Feaster being let go when/if the ownership change takes place.

It’s a crazy rumor, for sure, and I don’t believe it for more than a fraction of a second.