Jesper Fast 2023-24 Exit Interview Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast was perhaps one of the unluckiest Hurricanes this season. In the final game of the regular season, Fast suffered an injury after being cross checked from behind and was not able to return at all in the playoffs. The 32-year-old Swedish winger is one of Carolina's top forecheckers and defensive pieces and even though he isn't known for scoring, he led the team last playoffs in goals, so he was definitely a missed piece. The Canes held their second round of exit interviews on Sunday following the conclusion of their 2023-24 season which ended after losing in six games to the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs. Here's what Fast had to say: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On his injury status: It's a neck injury as you can probably see. Right now, we're still doing some... trying to find out how long it is. Have some new exams coming up so we'll know more later. Right now we're hopeful, but we're waiting for a little more results. On what the biggest concern is with the injury: I can't really say. We're still trying to figure out what's going on. They're hopeful and like I said, we'll know more later on. On getting injured right before the playoffs: Worst case scenario. Just when the fun is about to start, you're sitting on the sideline. You just want to help your team and be part of it, so of course it's really tough to be on the side. It was definitely one of the toughest periods in my career. On a favorite memory from the season: I haven't really thought about that. I can't say really right now. All I can say right now is I want to try and get healthy and refocus and hopefully be ready for next year. On if he's still experiencing any pain: Not really. Right now, I feel pretty good just very stiff. Unfortunately I have to wear this [neck brace] 24/7 so I can't really take it off so right now it's just very stiff. On Jordan Staal: Ever since I've been here, he's been a leader. He's shown everyone the type of player and person he is. He definitely deserves [Selke recognition]. He's such a big part of this team with the way he plays and the role he has. I'm really proud of him. On playing alongside Staal and Jordan Martinook: We've played together a lot and we know exactly what we get from one another. I think the biggest part is that everyone works really hard and we know the role we play and of course we want to chip in, but we take a lot of defensive starts and shutdown lines. Even though this year we got switched up a little bit, but I've just enjoyed my time playing with them. One of the really good memories I have too. On Seth Jarvis: Looking at a young guy like Jarvy, he really took a big step this year. I feel like he was definitely one of our best players the whole year. Playing PK, power play and every situation. Looking at him, he has a really good future. On the group potentially looking significantly different next year: It's going to be a hard summer. We want to keep everyone. We had such a great group here so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone can come back. I know it might be hard but I hope everyone does their part to keep everyone here. On if his injury is a reaggravation: I got a little injury a couple of weeks before that. It's hard to say but like I said, the second time definitely felt different than the first time. Something happened the second time. Just trying to figure out what's next.
