Raleigh, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes captain and reigning playoff MVP Jordan Staal is out one to two months with a partially torn calf muscle, coach Rod Brind Amour said Tuesday after the team morning skate.
Staal was hurt during pregame warmups Sunday at Philadelphia. Brind Amour called it a freak injury from something that happened in warmup and said the defending Stanley Cup champions will have to keep figuring out lineups, as they have through other injury stretches.
Carolina is already without winger Seth Jarvis to start the season after shoulder surgery. Staal won the Conn Smythe Trophy on the title run, scoring six goals in the final, winning 55 percent of his faceoffs and taking tough defensive matchups. Brind Amour said those matchups do not disappear with Staal out and that the group will have to share duties rather than replace him with one player.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi figures to take Staal spot in the lineup, with the Hurricanes expected to call up a forward from the minors.
The Carolina Hurricanes are listed among Raleigh professional sports anchors at Lenovo Center, and the club remains the Triangle NHL franchise. Local sports notes put the Hurricanes among tier-one teams covered for Triangle fans alongside NC State, so a long absence for the captain reshapes how the defending champions manage center ice while Jarvis is also sidelined. Brind Amour said the staff has had to share duties with high-end players out and will have to figure that out again with Staal unavailable for weeks.
