An already crazy week for player transactions has gotten even crazier.
With the Hurricanes suddenly returning to something resembling full health, they reassigned two more players to Charlotte on Thursday – defenseman Michal Jordan and center Jeremy Welsh. As of now, both are expected to be available for Friday’s game in Norfolk.
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Though it took him two and a half years to earn his first NHL recall, Jordan is quickly learning the finer points of being a player on the bubble between the two leagues. Thursday’s transaction was his third since Monday, all of which were completed without playing a single game for either team.
Jordan, who was in Charlotte as recently as Wednesday before rejoining the Hurricanes later that day, is now surplus to requirements in Raleigh with Tim Gleason and Jamie McBain set to return from injury in time to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PNC Arena on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Welsh, who had been with Carolina since Feb. 18, has been pushed out of the NHL roster due to the return of forwards Tim Brent and Jeff Skinner. The rookie played in three of the Hurricanes’ five games during that time, recording no points while averaging just under seven minutes of ice time per game.
Welsh, who has three goals in his last two games at the AHL level leading up to his most recent appearance with the team on Feb. 17, will fill what would have been a noticeable void centering one of the Checkers’ scoring lines. Riley Nash remains with the Hurricanes, while Brett Sutter will miss Friday’s game due to suspension.
Sorting through the eight transactions that have taken place since the Checkers’ last game on Saturday, Jordan, Welsh and forward Andreas Nodl each represent a net gain, though the team will be without Zac Dalpe (recalled to Carolina) and Sutter on Friday.
According to reports from Raleigh, Dalpe, who played in the Hurricanes’ loss to Washington on Tuesday, will be a healthy scratch for Thursday’s match-up with Pittsburgh.
For the first time in several weeks, the Checkers now have two extra players on their roster – one at forward and one on defense. David Rutherford has sat out each of the last two games after returning from a concussion, while rookie Tommi Kivisto is the least-experienced of the team’s current blueliners.
