Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Saturday.
The club placed the defenseman on injured reserve and recalled blue-liner Spencer Stastney from the AHL in a corresponding move.
Josi suffered the ailment after taking a heavy hit from Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in the second period of Nashville's 4-1 loss Tuesday. Bennett received a two-minute penalty for boarding on the play. Josi played a few more shits but didn't return to the bench to start the final frame and exited having logged one shot on goal in 15:39 minutes of ice time.
Former Panthers bench boss and current Predators head coach Andrew Brunette had strong words for the hit.
"I didn't like it. I don't think there's a place for it," he said, per the Tennessean's Alex Daugherty.
Brunette added: "Bennett is an honest, hard player, I just thought (it) was a little reckless. It was a very vulnerable position that Josi was in, close to the boards, head first. ... Just unfortunate to lose a player like that from that kind of hit."
The 34-year-old was initially considered day-to-day. He missed Thursday's 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
Josi ranks second on the Predators with 29 assists and third with 38 points in 53 outings this season while averaging 25 minutes of ice time. He was the runner-up for the Norris Trophy last season after pacing all defensemen with 23 goals in 82 games.
Nashville has struggled mightily with a 21-30-7 record this campaign.
