The New Jersey Devils announced that defenseman Connor Carrick was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. In a corresponding move, the Devils activated Will Butcher off of injured reserve.
Connor Carrick Injured
Connor Carrick sustained an upper-body injury during the Devils practice on Thursday.
So far this season, Connor Carrick has zero goals and one assist for 1 point to go along with two penalty minutes. His possession numbers were 43.4 percent Corsi For and a relative Corsi of -5.2.
Over his 6-year NHL career, Carrick has played for the Washington Capitals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Dallas Stars and the New Jersey Devils. He has 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 career points in 205 career games. He was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the 5th round, 137th overall in the 2012 NHL draft. The injury is a tough break for Carrick as he is only 25 years old and was hoping to make an impact this year. A lot of people think he still has untapped potential in his game.
What This Means for the Future
Even though the news of Carrick getting injured must be tough for the Devils and their fans, the news of getting Will Butcher back will help deal with the blow. Butcher will slide right back into his third-line pairing alongside Mirco Mueller.
Butcher brings some much-needed stability back to the defence. He is a superb puck-moving defenceman who really solidifies the Devils two-way game. He will help keep other team offences at bay and hopefully get their own offensive game going.
The New Jersey Devils are about to enter a rough stretch of their schedule. They are at home for two games to face the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers before hitting the road. They will hope to be able to string together a few wins in the coming weeks so they can remain relevant in the always competitive Metropolitan Division.
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