Test results Friday confirmed Max Pacioretty tore his right Achilles tendon Thursday night, two weeks after the Carolina Hurricanes forward returned to action after suffering the same injury in August.
Pacioretty grabbed at his right leg after suffering a non-contact injury pivoting next to the net with 19.2 seconds to go in the 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild and had to be helped off the ice by Brent Burns and trainer Doug Bennett. An MRI exam on Friday confirmed the injury, according to a source with knowledge of Pacioretty’s care, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season. The team later announced the diagnosis in a press release.
“He’s not in very good spirits, as you know,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the team’s Friday practice. “He’s getting checked out today, as we speak. It’s just kind of what you would expect. What are you going to say? He knows we’re all thinking of him but that doesn’t do much. We don’t know exactly what happened but it doesn’t look good. We’ll know more in the next few days.”
Earlier Friday, the team placed Pacioretty on injured reserve. He scored three goals in his five games with the Hurricanes, who acquired him from the cap-strapped Vegas Golden Knights for future considerations. He had just arrived in Raleigh in August when he tore the Achilles during an off-ice workout, but had minimally invasive surgery to repair the tendon and was able to make his debut with the team on Jan. 5 after finishing his rehabilitation ahead of schedule. The 33-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Hurricanes practiced without Pacioretty and Jaccob Slavin at Invisalign Arena before heading north to play the New York Islanders on Saturday. Slavin left Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild with less than four minutes to go. Brind’Amour said Slavin will make the trip with the team.
“We just gave (Slavin) a little time today,” Brind’Amour said. “I don’t think he felt 100 percent after the game. So we gave him a little time today.”
After the initial injury, the Hurricanes saw Pacioretty as their main trade-deadline addition, a proven NHL goal-scorer who could help them in the postseason after last year’s offensive woes. With Pacioretty’s $7 million cap hit off the books, they now have the opportunity and obligation to explore other options ahead of the March 3 trade deadline.
