Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal is inching closer to a return to the ice for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Staal has been out of the Hurricanes’ lineup since October 11 with a calf strain. But just over one month later and after having missed 14 games, he is getting very close to a return, and it could happen tomorrow afternoon in Helsinki, Finland, when the Hurricanes play the Seattle Kraken in the second of two NHL Global Series games.
Jordan Staal Could Play Tomorrow
Although nothing is confirmed yet, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour confirmed that Staal is practicing with the Hurricanes, and the hope is that they can play tomorrow afternoon against the Kraken.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. We brought him over here with the intention to maybe getting him in a game. He didn’t want to come all the way over here and not play. But there’s also no rush. Rushing a guy back, we don’t need to do that either. So, we’ll find out probably tomorrow after he gets through the morning, and hopefully he does play,” Brind’Amour said (via NHL.com).
Hurricanes Aren’t Desperate
While the Hurricanes would obviously love to have their captain back in the lineup, the truth is that the team isn’t desperate to get him back into their lineup, since they are the best team in the league right now even with their captain on the sidelines, so they can afford to wait until he’s 100% before he plays for them again.
Obviously, these Finland games are very special for all of the Hurricanes’ players, as they are basically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it makes sense why Staal is trying so hard to get back onto the ice for Carolina. But at the same time, the last thing the Hurricanes would want to happen is for Staal to return to the team’s lineup only to aggravate his injury and miss even more time.
So, we’ll find out on Saturday if he plays or not, but the Hurricanes will be favored to beat the Kraken whether Staal is in the team’s lineup or not.
Jordan Staal Inching Closer to Return for Hurricanes