Hurricanes might be able to survive Dougie Hamilton absence

Dougie Hamilton looks sure to miss a chunk of time, but the Carolina Hurricanes might be able to survive his absence.

The NHL season hiatus was lined up to help the Carolina Hurricanes, as defenseman Dougie Hamilton was cleared to play in April after suffering a broken fibula in January. But he was absent from practice late last week, and according to Sarah Civian of The Athletic head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters Hamilton remains unfit to play.

Brind’Amour was clear that Hamilton did not re-injure his fibula. The timetable for his return is to be measured in weeks, not months, so that’s a bit of good news.

Hamilton was having the best season of his career when he was injured in January, with 40 points (14 goal and 26 assists) in 47 games. He also had a robust +30 rating (tied for third-best in the NHL), as he topped 23 minutes per contest. If he had stayed healthy, he would have surely stayed in the race for the Norris Trophy.

Carolina is already going to be without defenseman Brett Pesce for their opening series against the New York Rangers, and possibly longer as he completes a four-six month recovery timetable from March shoulder surgery.

But Brind’Amour has great blue line depth at his disposal. Based on their final day of training camp, here’s how the Hurricanes’ defensive parings could look without Hamilton and Pesce.

Hurricanes defensive pairings without Dougie Hamilton.

Jaccob Slavin-Sami Vatanen
Jake Gardiner-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Brady Skjei-Joel Edmondson
Haydn Fleury-Jake Bean

Vatanen and Skjei were acquired by Carolina at the trade deadline, and purely from a health body standpoint, they’re now set to come in handy. A lower-body injury prevented Vatanen from making his Hurricanes’ debut before the season shut down, but he is now ready to go.

The Hurricanes start their qualifying round series against the Rangers on Saturday. The longer they can survive and advance, Hamilton’s return would seem increasingly possible if it’s going to happen.