Tuesday, October 13 marks a special day on the NHL calendar… It’s the Frozen Frenzy, where all 32 NHL teams are in action on one night, and early in the season, it’s a good opportunity for fans of their respective teams to keep tabs on all other opponents.
For the Carolina Hurricanes, they are off to a great start to the 2026-27 season and have won their last five games in a row.
However, the Hurricanes received a piece of bad news about their captain Jordan Staal before a Tuesday night matchup with the Washington Capitals.
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Jordan Staal Dealing with Calf Injury
Hurricanes’ reporter Walt Ruff broke the unfortunate piece of injury news regarding Jordan Staal on Tuesday afternoon:
“Oh no. Rod Brind’Amour says Jordan Staal has a tear in his calf and will miss “anywhere from a month to two months.”
The 38-year-old Staal is thought to have suffered the injury during warm-ups on Sunday before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
It will be interesting to see how this injury affects the Canes’ offensive attack, which is on fire right now, and has led to Carolina sitting atop the Metro Division standings in the early goings of the new season.
TSN.CA staff wrote (about Jordan Staal):
“Staal registered 20 goals and 36 points in 75 games with the Hurricanes last season. He added eight goals and 12 points in 19 playoff games as the Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup since 2006. Staal signed a one-year, $4.9 million contract extension last month, which holds an addition $5.1 million available in performance bonuses. He carries a cap hit of $2.92 million this season.”
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How Does Jordan Staal Injury Affect Carolina Hurricanes?
It’s obviously unclear how to measure the severity of the Jordan Staal injury and its impact on the Hurricanes until a few games are played, but again, the Canes are rolling right now and have several star players.
The main thing for Staal is getting him back healthy for the back half of the season.
The Canes’ next five games are against: the Capitals (on Tuesday), Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers.
It’s a lengthy west coast road trip for the defending Stanley Cup champs, and one that will certainly test the depth of the current group.
It will also be interesting to see if the Canes add another skater in the wake of the injury to Jordan Staal.
Carolina Hurricanes Announce Major Jordan Staal News Before Capitals Game