Charles Alexis Legault will miss the next three to four months after having surgery to repair multiple torn extensor tendons on his right hand.

The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman suffered laceration from a skate blade at the end of the first period of Sunday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"It was tough," said Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky. "He's another player who I think has worked his way up here. He just does it right all the time. He came into camp and was one of our best players in our preseason fitness testing because he works hard all summer, he gets into games, plays the right way, defends hard, stands up for teammates. He was sort of earning his spot and fitting in in a way you don't necessarily expect someone with the amount of experience he had. He looked ready to handle NHL minutes, which is a real testament to him and so it was tough. He was doing exactly that. He was sort of standing up for himself and engaging in stuff after the whistle, showing a little pushback, which is what you want to see, and he just got an unfortuante cut from a skate on the back of his hand and he had some damage to tendons, had surgery and is going to be out a couple months here. You hate to see it, but he will be back and we're still very high on his future and looking forward to having him back."

Legault was immediately attended to by head athletic trainer Doug Bennett and then the Toronto Maple Leafs medical staff before going to a Toronto hospital.

He traveled back home with the team and had surgery on Monday, performed by Dr. Harrison Tuttle at Raleigh Orthopaedic. 

"I hate it because be was really starting to find his groove at this level," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Hopefully he'll heal and be good to go. Tough one to swallow, but it is what it is."

The 22-year-old defenseman had appeared in eight games with the Hurricanes this year and had just scored his first goal the day prior. 

Legault's is the latest in a long line of injuries to Carolina's blueline, he's now the fifth defenseman that will miss time, but his injury is definitely the most severe one suffered.

"I've been around some teams who have dealt with it, but I've never seen it just be one position," said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who's missed nine games so far this season. "It is unfortuante, for sure. But our organizational depth is pretty deep and it's shown."

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