Since Seattle Kraken captain Jordan Eberle got tangled with Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and crashed into the end wall last Thursday, we wondered if the team would be missing him for a long stretch of the season. That concern became reality Friday when Seattle announced that Eberle, 34, underwent surgery on his pelvis and will be out for three months.

While the Kraken are always coy about injury updates, we at Sound Of Hockey had a strong hunch this injury was significant. The way coach Dan Bylsma had been talking all week—referencing tests being done and then more tests before the team could even give a realistic timeline—indicated that Eberle was seriously hurt.

Indeed, this injury now sidelines Eberle, who got off to his hottest start since his rookie season with six goals and two assists in the team’s first eight games, until at least late February and potentially even March, depending on how the recovery goes.

The good news is that the team called the surgery “successful” and provided a specific timeline for a return, something they likely wouldn’t have done if they didn’t believe he would be back this season. Still, there’s plenty of reason to be concerned for the veteran winger, who is a key piece of the organization and its leader both on and off the ice.

How Seattle navigates Eberle’s absence

Eberle’s extended absence from the lineup comes as defenseman Vince Dunn appears to be nearing a return from the injury that has sidelined him since Oct. 17. Dunn has been skating with the team—though not yet fully participating—and is on the road trip to Southern California, where Bylsma said he expects Dunn to practice more.

Sound Of Hockey‘s Blaiz Grubic wrote on Thursday that if Eberle’s injury wasn’t severe enough to warrant placing him on long-term injured reserve, then Dunn returning would have forced the Kraken into a major salary cap pickle with only difficult options to resolve it.

This news answers those questions for now. Although Eberle hasn’t yet been placed on LTIR as of Friday evening, he can be added there at any time. Once Dunn returns, the Kraken would have needed to return to cap compliance if the team had remained healthy. However, with Eberle now out, they can place him on LTIR and exceed the cap by his salary minus the team’s current cap space. This means they could go over by approximately $4.7 million.

As Blaiz noted in his previous article, the timing of Daniel Sprong’s re-acquisition was fortuitous. Seattle added a scoring winger just as it lost another for three months. In theory, the team is relatively well positioned to withstand this absence, with help from Coachella Valley call-ups like Ben Meyers, who has been performing well with the Kraken. Shane Wright is also waiting in the wings, having now been a healthy scratch for two straight games, and could slot in at wing if needed.

Placing Eberle on LTIR could also allow general manager Ron Francis to add a forward via trade or waiver claim if an opportunity arises. However, he would need to get the Kraken back under the cap if Eberle is able to return before the end of the regular season.

Concern for Eberle

All of this is important from a team perspective, but the biggest concern here is for Eberle’s well-being. The collision was a powerful one, and seeing the veteran helped down the tunnel by Seattle medical staff was tough to watch. Adding to the difficult timing of this major injury, Eberle and his wife, Lauren, are set to welcome their third child any day now. We’re wishing them all the very best.

Darren Brown

Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.

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