Waddell mentioned Gardiner's status when asked if the Hurricanes had enough NHL salary cap space for forward
Jesperi Kotkaniemi's
one-year, $6.1 million contract, which was signed after the Montreal Canadiens decided Saturday not to match an offer sheet tendered by the Hurricanes on Aug. 28.
Waddell did not say when Gardiner's surgeries would take place. Gardiner, who signed a four-year, $16.2 million contract ($4.05 million average annual value) with the Hurricanes on Sept. 6, 2019, will go on long-term injured reserve.
The 31-year-old had eight assists in 26 regular-season games and did not score any points in one Stanley Cup Playoff game last season, Game 2 of the first round, a 3-0 win against the Nashville Predators on May 19.
Last season, he missed five games from Feb. 25-March 6 with an upper-body injury, then missed 15 games from March 8-April 9 with a back injury. He missed 18 games from Feb. 26-April 3, 2019, with a back injury.
Selected in the first round (No. 17) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2008 NHL Draft, Gardiner has scored 277 points (49 goals, 228 assists) in 645 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hurricanes. He has scored 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 33 NHL playoff games.
The Hurricanes open their season against the New York Islanders at home Oct. 14.
