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The long-awaited debut of Lee Stempniak in the Carolina Hurricanes’ lineup this season may be imminent. The Hurricanes on Monday activated Stempniak from injured reserve, where he has been since suffering an upper body injury during a rehab stint in Charlotte in November.
Stempniak originally suffered an injury near the end of training camp, which caused him to miss the first six weeks of the season. The 16-goal scorer from a season ago will be a welcome addition to the Canes’ lineup, which has been in desperate need of goal scoring all season.
To make room for Stempniak on the Hurricanes’ roster, the team reassigned center Lucas Wallmark to the Charlotte checkers. Wallmark has not played since suffering a groin injury in last Tuesday’s loss to the Capitals.
The Hurricanes practiced this morning in Raleigh before boarding a flight to Tampa for tomorrow’s game against the Lightning. Sebastian Aho, who suffered a lower body injury in Saturday’s blowout loss to the Bruins, was a full participant in practice, but Coach Bill Peters said that Aho will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s game.
The release from the team is below.
STEMPNIAK ACTIVATED FROM INJURED RESERVE
Wallmark reassigned to AHL’s Charlotte Checkers
Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has activated forward Lee Stempniak from injured reserve. In addition, the Hurricanes have reassigned center Lucas Wallmark to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Stempniak, 34, has yet to play an NHL game for the Hurricanes this season. The West Seneca, NY, native scored 16 goals and added 24 assists (40 points) in 82 games for Carolina in 2016-17, and has totaled 460 points (200g, 260a) in 872 career NHL games.
Wallmark, 22, made his season debut for the Hurricanes on Dec. 30, scoring his first career against St. Louis, and has registered three points (1g, 2a) in 10 career NHL games with the Hurricanes. The Umea, Sweden, native has recorded 23 points (7g, 16a) in 20 games with the Checkers this season.