The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be without Jordan Staal for a while.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday that the 38-year-old center will miss one to two months because of a calf tear. The injury happened during warmups before Carolina’s 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Staal has not put up a point through six games this season. Last year, he finished with 20 goals and 16 assists for 36 points in 75 games, then added eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 19 postseason games as the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. He was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
A second overall pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the Thunder Bay, Ontario native spent his first six NHL seasons in Pittsburgh and won the Stanley Cup there in 2009. His best offensive season came in 2011-12, when he produced 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points in only 62 games.
Staal was dealt to Carolina before the 2012-13 season in a trade that sent forward Brandon Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and the eighth overall pick in the 2012 Draft to Pittsburgh. He is now in his 15th season with the Hurricanes and his ninth as captain, and he has helped the team reach the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons. In Carolina, he has played 978 career regular-season games and recorded 198 goals and 301 assists for 499 points.
Staal is in the final season of a four-year, $11.68 million contract with the Hurricanes, but he signed a one-year, $4.9 million extension in September that will keep him in Carolina through the 2027-28 season.
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 🡒]