The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be without their captain for potentially the rest of the calendar year as coach Rod Brind'Amour revealed today that Jordan Staal had suffered a partial tear in his calf.

"Unfortunately, he got a little tear in his calf so that's going to be a long-term injury," Brind'Amour said. "That's going to be anywhere from a month to two months. Not good news there."

The injury occurred during warmups before Sunday's game in Philadelphia, which Staal did not play in, something Brind'Amour called a "freak thing."

It's a huge blow for the Hurricanes, who utilize Staal in virtually every in-game situation.

The captain is on both the Canes' top power play and top penalty kill and plays against the other team's top competition each night as the go-to shutdown centerman.

"He gets the tough matchups every night and that frees up other guys to have a little less of that," Brind'Amour said. "No hiding behind that now. We're all going to have to step up a little more."

The 38-year-old veteran has enjoyed a relatively healthy run here with the Hurricanes as the 2026 Conn Smythe has missed only 22 games over the past seven seasons, which includes absences for illness and rest.

It's pretty marvelous to see just how much longevity Staal has enjoyed, with over 1,600 NHL games (regular season and playoffs) under his belt, especially with the heavy style he plays with.

But now the Hurricanes are going to have to find a way to cover his loss as they continue through their season.

"When you have guys out that are high-end, top players that mean so much to your team, you're not replacing them with one guy," Brind'Amour said. "It's sharing the duties. We're going to have to figure it out."

Mark Jankowski filled in in Staal's spot on Sunday, scoring a goal, and it looks like he'll be the main guy filling in for that role.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi slid back to the middle on the fourth line and Nicolas Deslauriers reentered the lineup as well. 

While the team may opt to continue to utilize that lineup, Seth Jarvis does seem to be on the verge of returning and Brind'Amour didn't rule out the possibility of having an additional callup as well.

"You would assume that's what we'll end up doing," Brind'Amour said.

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