The Hurricanes had recalled defenseman Ty Smith on five separate occasions earlier in the season but he never got into a game. It turns out the sixth time will be the charm. Earlier today, the team announced that they once again promoted Smith from AHL Chicago. However, they also revealed (Twitter link) that blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere was scratched for tonight’s game against New Jersey due to an upper-body injury.
Smith was acquired by Carolina last season at the trade deadline as part of the Jake Guentzel trade but hadn’t suited up for the Hurricanes before tonight. The 24-year-old has played in 13 games with the Wolves so far this season, collecting three goals and seven assists. Smith has 123 career NHL appearances under his belt between New Jersey and Pittsburgh but last saw action at the top level in January 2023.
As for Gostisbehere, he has been quite productive in his return to Carolina after signing a three-year, $9.6MM contract he signed back in July. Through 35 games, he has six goals and 21 assists while logging 19 minutes a night. He leads all Hurricanes blueliners in scoring while sitting third in points overall among all Carolina players so his absence will certainly be notable. The team didn’t reveal any potential timeline for his absence.