Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov To Undergo ACL Surgery

The Carolina Hurricanes announced that forward Andrei Svechnikov will miss the remainder of the season and playoffs to undergo knee surgery.

What a massive blow to a top Eastern Conference contender. 

The Carolina Hurricanes confirmed everyone's fears on Tuesday afternoon, announcing that star forward Andrei Svechnikov will undergo surgery to repair his right ACL in the coming days. He has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. 

The news comes roughly one day after reports surfaced that the Hurricanes were gathering a second opinion on Svechnikov's injury in the hopes of gaining some clarity on whether he could return at some point down the line. 

Alas, the worst-case scenario has arisen, and the Hurricanes will now be forced to battle in an increasingly daunting Eastern Conference playoff picture without arguably their top forward. 

Before his injury, Svechnikov was having a typically productive season, having racked up 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points in 66 games, all while logging upwards of 18 minutes per night in ice time. Svechnikov was also proving to be a crucial piece of Carolina's power play, with his five goals and 11 assists on the man advantage landing him near the top of his team's leaderboard. 

With Svechnikov out, the Hurricanes will likely turn to the likes of Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen and even Jesperi Kotkaniemi for increased roles as they look to fill this hole.