Two players that were not with the team for today's skate were Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith, both of whom will miss a chunk of time per Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour.
DeAngelo, who leads all Carolina defensemen with his 40 points in 43 games, will miss "about a month" per Brind'Amour. The first-year Cane left Monday's win over Philadelphia just four minutes into the second period after letting go of a slap shot from the blue line just seconds into his shift. He would not return and today the reigning Jack Adams Award winner said that it was an injury to his midsection that will now cause him to be out of the lineup until approximately March 24. Describing it as "long-term", Brind'Amour said that DeAngelo had experienced some discomfort before the shot attempt, then that was what "pushed it over the edge".
As for Smith, the head coach said it was better news, however, there was no exact timeframe offered. Sharing that the medical staff is treating it as a concussion but the issue is "more on his skull", the left-handed defenseman blocked a shot during the first period of the team's victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Smith may be able to start working out in a few days, but, again, Brind'Amour concluded by saying that he'll be "out a while".
So, in comes Jalen Chatfield,
recalled from AHL Chicago on Wednesday
.
Inked to a two-year extension
this time last month, the tall right-handed defenseman skated alongside Brady Skjei at today's practice. Donning his #64, Chatfield has played in seven games with the big club already this season. Recording an assist in the team's victory over Winnipeg on December 7, the rangy defender has also published 11 points in 30 games with Chicago this year.
"I'm just going to take it game-by-game and give it my all out there," Chatfield said of the presumed big opportunity for him. "It's a different league and different team, kind of, but we play the same systems in Chicago. You know what you have to do, you know your job, you know your role."
With Chatfield skating alongside Skjei, this marks the first time since Brett Pesce missed time due to COVID-19 in November and December that Skjei and Pesce will not be paired together. Pesce was bumped up to the top pair with Jaccob Slavin, while Ian Cole and Ethan Bear rounded out the unit of six.
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