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Seth Jarvis was an interested observer Wednesday as some of his Carolina Hurricanes teammates scrimmaged in an informal workout at Lane Arena.
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That’s what the Canes winger will be doing early in what’s now a fast-approaching season: watching.
Jarvis still is on the mend from shoulder surgery he had soon after the Canes won the Stanley Cup. He said his recovery period is moving along as planned, although wryly noting it did keep him off the golf course the past couple of months.
“I’ve just been hanging out and rehabbing, which is about all you can do,” Jarvis said. ”At the start, it was pretty boring and pretty meticulous. Now it’s getting ramped up.”
Following the surgery in late June, Canes general manager Eric Tulsky said Jarvis could be out 4-6 months – “Hopefully on the shorter end of that,” Tulsky said.
With the season starting Sept. 29 against the Florida Panthers, Jarvis’ earliest return might be at the end of October or in early November. That’s what he and the Canes are hoping for.
Jarvis laughed Wednesday when asked if the initial timeline had changed any and that he might be back sooner than later.
“You’re asking the wrong guy. I just do what I am told,” he said, smiling.
So when they tell him he’s good to go, he’ll go?
“Exactly,” he said.
Jarvis, 24, had a team-high 32 goals for the Canes last season, playing 71 regular-season games despite a painful shoulder ailment that’s hampered him for two years, finishing with seven game-winning goals and four shorthanded goals. He also played for Canada in the Olympics and came back with a silver medal.
The best was yet to come. Jarvis had four goals in the Canes’ 19-game run to the Cup, including arguably one of the biggest: his overtime strike to win Game 2 of the Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights and even the series 1-1.
Jarvis’ absence in preseason training camp will open the door for another forward to jump into his spot in the lineup, at least in the short term. That should ramp up competition in camp, especially among the younger wingers.
Bradley Nadeau played 12 games with the Canes last season, had another productive season in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, and would like to take a final step and become an NHL regular. Felix Unger Sorum, like Nadeau, will come into camp hopeful and determined. So, too, Justin Robidas, And there will be others.
“There’s definitely a spot and I’m excited to see what they can do,” Jarvis said.
Then there’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who became seemingly the forgotten man late in the season and did not get into a playoff game. But he has played more than 500 games — 42 last season — and could look to take advantage of another opportunity.
Nadeau, 21, would be an easy replacement for Jarvis, giving Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour a winger who has a right-hand shot. But the 2023 first-round draft pick is taking nothing for granted.
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“I’m looking at it as I’m coming into camp in the best shape I can be and hoping to battle for a spot,” Nadeau said Wednesday. “And no matter what happens, if you have that mindset and something opens up, you’re ready and you’re not just banking on a spot opening up. That’s the way I look at it going into camp this year.”
Nadeau and the Wolves finished the 2025-26 season in the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs, losing in the final to the Toronto Marlies. Their last game was June 19, five days after the Canes closed out Vegas for the Stanley Cup.
In other words, it was an abbreviated offseason for everyone.
Nadeau, who has an explosive shot, had 27 goals and 56 points in 52 games for the Wolves and scored seven times on the power play. He had three goals in his 12 games with Carolina.
“I think it was a good season from start to finish,” Nadeau said. “I gained a lot of experience, gained a lot of positives on both ends of the ice. I think I grew a lot as a player.”
And his games up with the big team?
“When you play against (NHL) players you know what to expect,” he said. “Obviously I watch a lot of the games, and you can see it, but playing is a lot different and that’s when you learn the most. When you play 12 games like that, it’s good experience, and you always want to bank on that and every chance you get, just try to prove what you can do.”
Nadeau has done his best to remain patient. The Canes lineup was good enough to win a Stanley Cup, with four lines of forwards all contributing.
“I’m waiting for the chance, but it’s not hard to stay motivated.,” he said. “Sometimes, when you have to wait a while, that’s when the motivation can go away. But as long as you’re motivated and having fun …”
Two years ago, winger Jackson Blake emerged from training camp with a roster spot and made the most of his opportunity. Before Blake, there was Jarvis doing the same.
Nadeau, Unger Sorum and several of their Wolves teammates will compete in the 2026 Prospect Showcase, hosted by Carolina this year at Lane Arena. It’s a three-team event, with the Canes first facing the Nashville Predators on Sunday (2:35 p.m.) and then Tampa Bay on Tuesday (2 p.m.).
Next up is training camp. The Canes have four preseason games, the first on Sept. 20 at Florida.
The Canes announced Wednesday they had signed goalie Cayden Primeau and forwards Skyler Brind’Amour and Robidas to new contracts.
Primeau received a two-year contract that pays $850,000 in the 2026-27 season and $975,000 in 2027-28. Brind’Amour and Robidas both were signed to one-year, two-way contracts.
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This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 5:45 AM.