Mark Jankowski is heading back to Raleigh after leaving Carolina’s game against the Calgary Flames with a lower-body injury.
The Hurricanes said Jankowski was unavailable for the 3-2 loss in Calgary, and Rod Brind’Amour didn’t have more to offer after the game beyond saying the forward would return to Raleigh to have the issue evaluated. Nicolas Deslauriers stepped into his spot against the Flames.
The injury adds another headache for Carolina, which has already been working around a string of absences. Seth Jarvis remains out, while Jordan Staal is on injured reserve with a calf injury and Taylor Hall is day-to-day.
Jarvis may not be far off, though, since he is traveling with the team. Even so, the Hurricanes have already reached down to AHL Chicago for help, bringing up Felix Unger Sorum and Bradly Nadeau to help fill the gaps.
Losing Jankowski, though, hits a specific part of the lineup. He has opened this season with a burst, scoring six goals and seven points over his last six games, which puts him tied for fourth in the NHL in goals.
Among players with at least eight games played, his 40% shooting rate also ranks fourth in the league. For Jankowski, this is the strongest first nine games of any season in his 11-year NHL career, and he’s on pace for 55 points over 83 games.
His best scoring season came with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19, when he set a career high with 32 points.
Jankowski is in the first year of the two-year extension he signed during Carolina’s Cup run, a deal that runs through the 2027-28 season and is worth $3.7MM, or $1.85MM per year.
When the contract was announced, general manager Eric Tulsky said, “ Mark has been an excellent fit for our organization throughout his time here. He’s proven he can contribute in different ways, and we are glad he’s chosen to remain with the organization.”
The 31-year-old finished the 2025-26 regular season with 11 goals and 21 points in 68 games, then added a goal and four assists in 18 playoff games during Carolina’s run to the 2026 Stanley Cup. Since arriving in a trade with the Predators at the 2025 deadline, when the Hurricanes sent a 2026 fifth-round pick the other way, he has become a steady bottom-six piece for the club.
In Other News...
Hurricanes See Two Worrying Streaks End As Lineup Concern Grows
The Hurricanes finally ran into a night that looked a little more like the rest of the league, falling 3-2 to the Flames and seeing both their seven-game winning streak and their perfect road mark come to an end. It was the kind of loss that stings a little more because it came with the team still trying to sort out its lineup, and the details around one forwards availability added an extra layer of concern to an already frustrating result.
Carolina had chances to extend the run, but Calgary found the late answer it needed to pull it out in the third period. For a club that has spent the start of the season building momentum, the bigger question now is how it comes out of this one physically and whether the roster remains intact as the schedule keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Let A Perfect Weekend Slip Away In Calgary
The Hurricanes final trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome had all the ingredients for a tidy finish to the weekend, but it ended with a 3-2 loss to the Flames instead. Carolina went with Brandon Bussi and Devin Cooley in net, while Mark Jankowski was unavailable because of a lower-body injury, leaving the lineup a little thinner as the team tried to keep its momentum going in Calgary.
Instead, the game turned late in the second period when the Flames struck twice in a short span to seize control, and the pressure only grew from there. Yegor Sharangovich delivered the deciding goal in the third, sending the Hurricanes home with a frustrating finish after a trip that looked for a while like it might produce a perfect weekend. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Forward Depth Suddenly Looks Like A Real Problem
Taylor Hall landing on injured reserve is the latest reminder that Carolinas forward group is suddenly getting stretched thin. The veteran left winger had already been unavailable for a key matchup with Washington, and now his absence adds to a lineup that has been forced to absorb more injury news than anyone around the team would like at this point in the season.
The bigger concern for the Hurricanes is that Hall is not the only name in limbo. Seth Jarvis, Jordan Staal and Mark Jankowski are also dealing with injuries or being evaluated, which leaves Carolina trying to piece together its depth on the fly while waiting for answers on a handful of regulars. [Read more 🡒]