The Florida Pnathers’ game of musical chairs is far from over for the season. Young forward Brandon Pirri was injured on Saturday and his status going forward is uncertain. That injury likely has something to do with the team needing to recall Greg McKegg from the Portland Pirates of the AHL and correspondingly placing Aleksander Barkov on injured reserve to clear the roster space for the move.
Pirri’s injury is being called a lower-body injury, but it’s clearly his ankle. He crashed into the boards awkwardly Saturday with his ankle doing something ankles are simply not meant to do. His status going forward hasn’t been clarified, but Cats on the Prowl reported Sunday that Pirri was seen on crutches and in a walking boot, unable to put pressure on his left foot.
Barkov, the team’s top-line center, has been out of the lineup since taking a hit to the head from Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader on February 9. The team had said previously that they expect him to return to the lineup early this coming week. The placement on IR will be retroactive to the date of the injury, meaning that this may just be clearing space and not an indication that his timetable for return has been altered.
Getting the recall is 23-year-old Portland forward Greg McKegg. He’s grabbed four NHL games in his career, spread across two seasons and all for the Toronto Maple Leafs. If he finds his way into a game on this recall, it will be his Florida Panthers debut.
He has put up nine goals and 21 points through 41 games for the Pirates this season.
Watch the Pirri injury below.
The injury to Brandon Pirri: pic.twitter.com/Qb7Dpm1Uvf
— Cats On The Prowl (@Cats0ntheprowl) February 14, 2016