The Washington Capitals center Jay Beagle underwent successful hand surgery earlier today.
The injury is expected to keep him out for a period of six weeks.
Beagle was injured in Wednesday’s game against Buffalo when he was slashed by Jake McCabe.
The 30-year-old has six goals and 12 points in 36 games, but his value isn’t measured in points.
He’s one of the best face-off men in the NHL at 58.4 percent and he leads all Caps forwards with 2:04 of shorthanded ice time per game.
Washington could make a trade to replace Beagle or, as CSN’s Chuck Gormley points out, they could ask Marcus Johansson, Andre Burakovsky or Brooks Laich to shift to center.