Jordan Staal will be out for a significant stretch after suffering a torn calf muscle in a pre-game skate before Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, leaving the Carolina Hurricanes without their captain for what head coach Rod Brind’Amour described as a long-term injury.
Brind’Amour said Tuesday, after the team’s pregame skate, that Staal is expected to miss “anywhere from a month to two months.” Staal had already sat out Sunday’s win over the Flyers with what was first listed as a lower-body injury.
The coach said the damage happened in what he called a “freak thing” during the build-up to the game. “Unfortunately, he got a little tear in his calf, so it’s going to be a long-term injury,” he said. “So not good news there, but we’ve had a lot of injuries over the years, and we’re just going to have to keep figuring it out.”
For Carolina, it’s a tough loss. Staal was the playoff MVP during last season’s Stanley Cup run, and his two-way game has been a major part of what the Hurricanes do. He also carries real weight in the room as the team’s captain.
Brind’Amour’s comments made clear the Hurricanes aren’t planning to dwell on it. The team has had plenty of injury trouble in recent years, and now it will have to juggle its center group, absorb Staal’s defensive work, and handle the key situations he usually anchors.
There is no firm return date yet, and the one-to-two-month timeline leaves the door open for the recovery to go longer or shorter than expected. For now, Carolina moves forward without one of its most important players and leans on the next-man-up mindset Brind’Amour pointed to Tuesday.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Suddenly Face An Early Test They Did Not Want
Jordan Staals absence lands as a jarring early-season hurdle for a Carolina group that usually prides itself on stability down the middle. Rod BrindAmour confirmed the captain will miss one to two months with a calf tear, and the Hurricanes are already adjusting their forward structure around it, with Mark Jankowski moving to a new line and expected to stay there.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi has also been shifted back to center as Carolina tries to keep its balance intact through the stretch ahead. In goal, Pyotr Kochetkov is projected to start against the Washington Capitals, another small sign that the Hurricanes are trying to steady the ship while one of their most important leaders is sidelined. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Suddenly Face A Major Problem Without Their Captain
The Hurricanes are suddenly staring at a stretch they did not expect to navigate without Jordan Staal, their captain and one of the clubs most reliable centers. Staal is expected to miss one to two months because of a calf tear, a hit to Carolinas structure that goes beyond the box score and reaches into the way the team handles tough minutes, faceoffs and late-game situations.
For a group built on depth and detail, losing a player with Staals role forces everyone else to absorb more responsibility almost immediately. The timing is especially awkward with the season still taking shape, and it leaves Carolina trying to protect its rhythm while waiting for one of its most trusted voices to work his way back. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Suddenly Have A Bigger Taylor Hall Concern
Taylor Hall has quickly become part of the Hurricanes early-season equation, working on the top line and producing five points in seven games. So when he exited against the Capitals with an upper-body injury, it immediately raised the kind of concern Carolina did not need this early in the schedule.
The bigger issue now is how long the Hurricanes might have to get by without him. If Hall is sidelined beyond this game, the organization may need to look to Chicago for reinforcements, with Bradly Nadeau or Felix Unger Sorum among the options to be recalled. [Read more 🡒]