Hurricanes Place Taylor Hall On IR

The Hurricanes made a move to open up a roster spot on Monday, announcing that they’ve placed winger Taylor Hall on injured reserve.  No immediate corresponding recall was made, leaving Carolina’s active roster at 22 players for the time being; they’re next in action on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old sustained an upper-body injury last Tuesday against Washington.  While there’s no firm timeline for his return, head coach Rod Brind’Amour recently noted that Hall is expected to be out week-to-week.  Accordingly, it was only a matter of time before he landed on IR.

Hall’s injury derailed what had been a strong start to his season.  After finding another gear offensively in the playoffs when he had 19 points in as many games, he picked up three goals and two assists in eight games in the early going to this campaign.  That had him on an early pace to surpass the 50-point mark for only the second time this decade but that will be considerably more challenging now given that he’ll miss at least a few weeks of action.

Carolina’s recent injuries have allowed them to give looks to youngsters Bradly Nadeau and Felix Under Sorum.  In the short term, it’s likely that they’ll continue to get some chances but with Hall’s placement, they now have the ability to recall someone else from AHL Chicago in the near future.  With Mark Jankowski being evaluated for an injury sustained on Saturday against Winnipeg, that recall could be coming soon as they’re down to just 12 healthy forwards on their active roster.