RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes captain and reigning playoff MVP Jordan Staal is out 1-2 months with a partially torn calf muscle, coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday.
Staal was hurt during pregame warmups Sunday at Philadelphia, according to Brind’Amour.
“It was just something he did in warmup: a freaky thing, but it is what it is,” Brind'Amour said following his team's morning skate. “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.”
The defending Stanley Cup champions now have to go without one of their most important centers while already missing winger Seth Jarvis for the start of the season following shoulder surgery.
Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his contributions on Carolina's title run, which included scoring six goals in the final, winning 55% of his faceoffs and playing lockdown defense against some of the NHL's top players.
“He gets the tough matchups every night,” Brind'Amour said. “No hiding that now. We’re all going to have to step up a little more with those two guys out, in particular.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi figures to take Staal’s spot in the lineup, with the Hurricanes expected to call up a forward from the minors.
“When you have guys out that we have — high-end top players that do so much for your team — you’re not replacing them with one guy,” Brind'Amour said. “It’s kind of sharing the duties. With Jarvy out, we’ve had to do that, and now with Jordo out we’re going to have to figure that out, as well.”
___
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
The Associated Press
