Armstrong: Hamilton the player Canes can least afford to lose

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Watching Dougie Hamilton's injury happen was awful enough, but watching it knowing it very likely could've been avoided with an earlier penalty whistle on Columbus just makes things worse. There is flatly no replacing Hamilton's All-Star skill set.

There's not even a way to loosely replicate it. He is the Hurricanes unicorn.

There is no good time for an injury like this, but this is a doubly terrible occurrence in that it'll not only deprive Dougie of his first career All-Star appearance but also leave the Canes shorthanded as they enter the stretch run of what's guaranteed to be a playoff race determined by a point or two at most.

The extent of his injury wasn't immediately known Thursday night, but watching Hamilton mouth the words, "I think I broke my leg" was indication enough.

On Friday, the Canes' website reported that Hamilton suffered a broken left fibula.

Hamilton is being evaluated by team doctors, accoridng to the Canes.

After the game, Rod Brind'amour didn't have much to offer: "It doesn't look good obviously, so that's a tough one. You obviously hate to see guys get hurt. it's unfortunate, but that's part of it."

Hamilton came to this team a lost soul of sorts, tossed aside by two other teams and stigmatized as an oddity. A supposed quiet loner in a sport that aggressively touts the importance of team chemistry. With the Hurricanes, he finally found a home and acceptance and unsurprisingly has responded with the best hockey of his career.

Now, in his absence, everyone must raise their level. Not just the defensemen either. Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce must continue to be great. Joel Edmundson must continue to be steady. It's on the likes of Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Haydn Fleury and Jake Gardiner to raise their level of play and become players that can be depended upon. The forwards will have to up their level of productivity to replace Hamilton's missing offense.

Nothing comes easily in hockey in normal circumstances. Lose arguably your best player and the margins become even slimmer. That's the unfortunate reality the Hurricanes must tackle now.

Slavin will replace Hamilton on the NHL All-Star roster.