It's a good news day so far.

While lockout talks seem to be progressing in New York City, Claude Giroux is in Ottawa, skating and working out for the first time since suffering a neck injury in a Deutsche Eishockey Liga game two weeks ago. The Ottawa Citizen caught up with Giroux, a native of the area, who was skating with fellow locked out NHLers and some members of the Carleton Ravens, a Canadian university club.

"I'm doing better, but it's a process and I need to understand that," Giroux told the paper. "(Tuesday) was my first day back in the gym and today was just a little skate, some flow drills and stuff. It was good, and hopefully, it keeps getting better. I still have some things to make sure I'm 100 per cent."



Giroux explained how the injury went down. It apparently happened off a faceoff, when he turned around and took an elbow to the neck and shoulder. He didn't say whether or not he felt it was accidental or not, but Eisbären Berlin made quite the stink about the hit over in the DEL. No penalty was given out on the play and no later discipline was dished out, either.

Danny Briere remains in Berlin, but it doesn't seem as though Giroux is planning on heading back any time soon. Not unless he's 100 percent, at least. Hopefully the lockout is out soon enough and his next game is in orange and black.