Hurricanes' coach: Jordan Staal will be replaced 'by committee'

Upon learning that Jordan Staal will be out of action for three to four months with a fractured fibula, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters stated the empty center spot will be filled "by committee."

“We don’t have one guy who’s 6-(foot-)4, 230 (pounds) we can just insert there and play all those minutes,” Peters opined, as per the News and Observer. “Obviously we’re going to miss (Jordan Staal), but it’s our job to move forward and still play well and win hockey games.”

The list of committee members includes Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask and Riley Nash, all of whom may be called upon to fill the void left by the team's second-line center and uber-effective penalty killer.

Lindholm enters the new season at 19 years of age and, as the fifth overall pick from the 2013 Entry Draft, the most highly-touted; he appeared in 58 games last season as a rookie, scoring nine goals and adding 12 assists. Asking him to adopt a Jordan Staal-type role at this point in his career may be asking a bit too much.

Rask, drafted in the second round of the 2011 draft, spent 2013-14 in the AHL, registering 16 goals and 23 assists in 76 games. He brings zero NHL games of experience to the table, but is impressing Jordan's brother, Eric, so far in training camp.

“(Rask's) been good, he’s been poised,” Eric Staal said. “I think his skating has improved a lot since the last time I saw him here at camp and his confidence is a little bit higher. I’m sure he’s a guy they’re going to be looking at for possibly getting an opportunity. So he has to make the most of it, as other guys should, as well.”

Nash, at 25, is the senior member of the committee. The 2007 first-round pick skated in 73 games for the Hurricanes last season, with 10 goals and 14 assists to his credit. He's also the only one of the three that saw any time on the penalty kill last season

At the end of the day, the whole squad will need to help carry the load, with captain Eric leading the way.

"It’s going to be a collective team type effort to have everybody fill that kind of role," he said. "There will be different guys playing different minutes and different guys needed to step up. We need to step up. We’ve got an opportunity for some guys to gain experience and get better.”