The Carolina Hurricanes are second in the Eastern Conference and also hold the third best point percentage in the league overall, and they've accomplished all that pretty much without arguably their best player.

Defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who is one of the best defensive players in the entire game, played in just two games with the Hurricanes before sustaining a lower-body injury back in early October.

But for the first time since that injury, Slavin was back on the ice in a normal jersey, signaling that he might just be nearing a return to the lineup.

"I've been progressing really well," Slavin said on Friday. "It's been a long road, but I'm thankful for just... so many people have reached out saying, 'Hey, I'm praying for you,' and all that kind of stuff. It's been all in God's timing the whole time and I've been trusting him with that. But, at the same time, it's good to be back out there with the guys. Missed them, for sure."

The blueliner had missed the entire preseason this season as well due to a knee injury he suffered over the summer and he said that the injury from the Oct. 11 game against the Philadelphia Flyers was related to that same ailment.

"It's all kind of the same injury," Slavin said. "I think just different aspects of it showed itself when the beginning of the season happened. Thought it felt good. So not necessarily a reaggravation, but a different diagnosis."

Slavin is just one of a myriad of injuries to the Hurricanes blueline, which has seen 10 players log games for the team at some point in the year, but despite that, the Hurricanes have managed to hold their own as is clear to see.

"They've been awesome," Slavin said. "I think it speaks a lot to the depth that we have from the D-side of things. Management has done a great job of getting guys, and the guys that have come in have done an unbelievable job of just playing hard and obviously giving our team a chance to win every night. It's been fun to watch them all."

The 31-year-old defender had been skating on his own for a few weeks, but only got back onto the ice with the full group earlier this week. He had skated in a non-contact jersey for a few days and you could tell that he was really ramping up his involvement more and more each day.

"You're just trying to get to a spot where you're confident out there when it is time to get back in a game," Slavin said. "So ramping it up over the next little bit and this past week I felt like it's been just continuing to progress to get me to a spot where I do feel confident sprinting out onto the ice and truly just feeling like I can play a full game without weakness or lack of confidence out there. Just trying to get up to game speed as quick as you can. It's hard to replicate game speed, but you try to do everything you can to replicate it."

While he may not have been around on the ice, Slavin was still a visible part of the community, whether that was on the FanDuel Sports Network broadcasts or at the various charity outings that the team took part in.

"Whether I'm playing or I'm not playing, it's a big part of what my wife and I like to do and what our purpose is with the resources that God has given us," Slavin said. "Whether it's being there handing out food through the team or the stuff we're doing personally, I think that's a big part of the platform God has given us to be in this community, but also just a part of the community, truly being a part of it."

While it's great to see Slavin taking these big steps, the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind, is when is he going to actually be back in the lineup?

Well, if you ask his coach, he's not so sure.

"I'm kind of staying out of that question because I thought, a long time ago, we'd have seen him way earlier,," said Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "I'm grateful that he's out there. We'll see."

But if you ask him...

"Hopefully soon," Slavin said with a smile.

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