We've gotten a new update on Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

On Friday, Hurricanes General Manager Eric Tulsky joined Scott Laughlin and Gord Stellick on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio to discuss a variety of topics, one of which being Slavin's current status.

"He's working through his rehab and it's sort of week-by-week," Tulsky said. "He's making progress. We are trying to play it conservatively and make sure we don't have another setback. It just takes some time and you want to make sure you're doing it the right way and positioning yourself to have a good stretch run and into the playoffs. So we're going through that time right now, where he's building things up and making sure he's ready to play and making sure when he gets back, he's good to go."

Slavin, 31, has missed the team's last 16 games after sustaining a lower-body injury in just the second game of the season for Carolina (Oct. 11).

It's the longest stretch of time the star blueliner has missed in his NHL career and it's certainly a tough absence for the Hurricanes to have to deal with.

"He's an incredible player and a huge loss for us, especially with the way we pressure," Tulsky said. "Having someone back there who can cover and just clean stuff up and you just know it'll be okay when he's there. That's a huge plus for a team and we're missing it right now, for sure."

Slavin is just one of  10 players to have missed time so far this season though in what has been a cursed start to the year for the Hurricanes.

Every game, it seems like someone else is going down or getting injured, but still, the team has done an excellent job of sticking with it and has a 12-5-0 record (the fourth best in the league) despite it all.

"I think we've had about three team's shares of injuries," Tulsky said. "It's certainly been a start. We've had 10 or 11 different defensemen play for us so far, we've had three or four out at a time. It's been a lot, but this group has been incredibly resilient. They've been playing really hard night after night. We always do. It's one of the great things under Rod [Brind'Amour] that this team gives its all every single game and that's enough to make you competitive in this league."

Slavin could still be a bit of a ways away, but it's promising to hear that he's progressing. He's still a frequent sight in the team's locker room too and spirits seem high for the defenseman, so hopefully it won't be too much longer before he's back out on the ice.

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