Canes' Cole suffers serious neck injury

[SevenSeasJim]

TSN.ca Staff

3/5/2006 2:14:05 PM

The Carolina Hurricanes have suffered a setback to their aspirations to win the Stanley Cup because winger Erik Cole has suffered a significant neck injury.

The Hurricanes announced Sunday that Cole has a compression fracture in a vertebra in his neck expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season.

Cole, who was hit from behind on Saturday by Penguins defenceman Brooks Oprik, was released from UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh on Sunday and flown back to Raleigh for examination by Dr. Douglas Martini.

Orpik’s immediate future with the Penguins will be decided by the NHL, which is likely to suspend the Pittsburgh blueliner who was assessed a five-minute boarding major at 5:18 of the third period.

''I'm sure the league will follow up on it,'' Hurricanes' head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. ''I just think people who have a history of putting other players in the league in vulnerable situations, there's no room for that. There's no room for (risking) somebody's well-being.''

Earlier in the game, Cole had scored a pair of goals, his 29th and 30th goals of the season, to go with 30 assists, and a plus-20 rating. Cole, along with centre Eric Staal, has been one of the Canes’ premier players this season.

The Hurricanes won't be able to effectively replace Cole in their lineup – he played on the team’s top line with Staal and Cory Stillman – but the Hurricanes have recalled winger Andrew Ladd, who has been playing well in the minors.

Veteran Doug Weight will move onto the top line with Staal and Stillman while Ladd will move into Weight’s position on a line with Rod Brind’Amour and Justin Williams.

In the good news department, Carolina is closer to getting centre Josef Vasicek back from reconstructive knee surgery. He's skating again and should be back in the Canes' lineup well before the end of the regular season.

Cole's injury, though, will no doubt cause the Hurricanes to look at potential replacements via the trade market before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline for making moves.