Hurricanes’ William Carrier undergoes surgery, expected to be out “at least a couple of months”
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour announced on Friday that winger William Carrier underwent surgery on a lower-body injury and is expected to be out for “at least a couple of months”.
We finally have an update on William Carrier (lower-body injury), but unfortunately, it is not a good one.
Rod Brind'Amour says that the forward is going to be out "at least a couple of months" after undergoing surgery.
There is hope that he could return this season, though. pic.twitter.com/XI1vUv8w7Z
Carrier has missed the last 10 games after sustaining the injury on January 4th against the Minnesota Wild. It’s unclear what the cause of the injury is, but it’s believed to be a reaggravation of a previous injury, and after getting opinions on what to do, he decided that the best course of action was to undergo surgery to completely heal it.
Carrier is expected to be away from the team for “at least a couple months” according to Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes head coach also mentioned that there is hope that he could return this season closer to the playoffs.
Carrier was producing at about the rate he usually does before his injury, as he had 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 39 games. He’s also been one of the Hurricanes’ best forwards at driving play, with a 59.91% 5v5 expected goal share that is third among forwards, and also has the best on-ice expected goals for per 60 minutes and the fifth-best expected goals against per 60, according to Evolving Hockey.
Carrier was a second-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2013 NHL Draft, although he never played a game for the organization before he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the return in the trade that sent Ryan Miller to the Blues. He made his NHL debut in the 2016-17 season with Buffalo before he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft in 2017. He spent seven seasons in Vegas, winning a Stanley Cup with them before leaving for free agency in the 2024 offseason, where he signed with the Hurricanes.
Carrier is currently in the first year of a six-year contract with a $2 million cap hit.
The Hurricanes are currently in second in the Metropolitan Division with a 30-16-3 record. They’ll look to extend their four-game winning streak when they visit the New York Islanders on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST.