Svechnikov expected to be ready for start of Hurricanes season, GM says

Andrei Svechnikov is expected to be ready for the start of the season and could return for the start of training camp following knee surgery in March, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday.

"He's four months after surgery (in July) and [was] skating by himself, not with any contact or anything," Waddell said on NHL Network. "Six months will basically be right when training camp opens, so he's right on schedule or maybe even ahead of schedule.

"He wants to be playing today, but we'll be cautious, obviously. October is important, but as the season goes on, it becomes even more important. I fully expect him to be ready when the season starts."

The 23-year-old forward sustained a torn ACL in his right knee in a 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 11.

Svechnikov is hopeful that he'll be ready to play when the Hurricanes open the 2023-24 season against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 11.

"It's been very good," Svechnikov said after his exit interview May 26. "Every day [doing] rehab, every day working out. It's getting better and better. The leg is getting stronger."

Svechnikov was fourth on the Hurricanes with 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists) in 64 games prior to his injury last season and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time.

The No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov has 264 points (112 goals, 152 assists) in 347 NHL games and 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 40 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and is entering the third season of an eight-year, $62 million contract ($7.75 million average annual value) he signed Aug. 26, 2021.

Waddell also said Carolina is happy to welcome back defenseman Video: Don Waddell on bringing back Tony DeAngelo, who Video: Don Waddell on bringing back Tony DeAngelo with the Hurricanes on July 24.

The 27-year-old had 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) in 70 games last season with the Philadelphia Flyers, who bought out the final season of his two-year, $10 million contract ($5 million AAV) on July 15. He previously played with Carolina in 2021-22, when he had 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) in 64 games. That season, he also set NHL career highs in rating (plus-30) and power-play points (20) but was traded to the Flyers on July 8, 2022.

"He can certainly run the power play," Waddell said. "We know he's a feisty player. He sticks up for his teammates. He plays with an edge, which you need sometimes. You hope you don't cross that edge too often, but it's going to happen once in a while. ... At the end of his season here, I remember meeting with players and everybody, to a man, liked Tony and wanted to bring him back. Unfortunately, we couldn't reach a deal and we wound up trading him, but we're very pleased to add Tony back into our mix, that's for sure."

The Hurricanes (52-21-9) finished first in the Metropolitan Division last season, winning their third straight division title, but were swept by the Florida Panthers in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final.