Jordan Staal is back in the Carolina Hurricanes' lineup this morning, according to NHL Media, ahead of game two of the NHL Global Series against the Seattle Kraken.
Staal has been listed on injured reserve with a calf injury, and he had only played 6 games this season before going down. The Hurricanes are 15-3-2 and sit first in the NHL anyway.
The NHL's official account put the news out this morning, and the puck drops today.
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The 38-year-old center has no points through those 6 games and a -2 rating, so nobody is expecting a statement night. His value shows up in other places, and Rod Brind'Amour knows exactly what he's getting from a player who has played 1409 regular-season games.
Carolina is coming off a 4-1 win at Seattle on Thursday. The Hurricanes have won 3 straight, and a second win today would make it 4.
There is a cost to getting him back, and it landed on someone else. Mike Reilly's placement on waivers was announced this morning as Staal comes off injured reserve, so a 10-year veteran defenseman is now available to all 31 other teams.
Why the timing matters for Carolina
The sheet says Staal was expected to be out until at least Nov 14, which is today. So this is the first day he was eligible, and the Hurricanes didn't wait.
That tells you how Carolina sees him. A team with 32 points through 20 games, 8-1-1 over its last 10, could have eased him in. Instead the captain goes straight back into the lineup against a Seattle team it just beat on the road.
My view: the Hurricanes are better with him than without him, even with an empty stat line this season. A 6'4", 220-pound center who has won over 300 goals' worth of respect in this league changes how a bottom-six matchup looks, and the standings say Carolina doesn't need a fix. It just needs its captain back.
The Hurricanes are 6-1-1 at home, and today's game against the Kraken is the chance to see where Brind'Amour slots Staal in the lineup. Whether Reilly gets claimed is the other storyline to watch.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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