Friday's loss to the Florida Panthers was a tough pill to swallow for the Carolina Hurricanes. After leading the game 3-0 midway through the third period, it quickly disappeared over the final ten minutes, ending when the Panthers scored one more goal than the Canes in the shootout. However, the defining moment of the night came before the shootout ever began.
As he drove to the net during the opening seconds of overtime, Seth Jarvis was tripped by Evan Rodrigues, sending him violently into the post. It didn't take a genius to see that Jarvis was in visible discomfort, exiting the contest with an upper-body injury. You can watch the replay a million times, and a million times this should've been a penalty, but it wasn't. The stripes missed this one.
Seth Jarvis went to the dressing room after crashing hard into the post. pic.twitter.com/YDYI7dENFt
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 20, 2025
After the game, Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour provided a very somber update, stating that it didn't look good and that Jarvis would be "out for a while." Beyond not being available for Saturday's game in Tampa Bay, it seems like he'll be out for several games. This likely signals the end of his campaign for a roster spot on Team Canada for the Olympics.
After being named to Canada's 4 Nations roster for last February's tournament, the hope was that Jarvis had the inside track to make Canada's roster in Italy. He has fought to prove why he deserves a spot all season. Frankly, I felt he'd done more than enough to prove his value to the team. However, he has been fighting an uphill fight, granted, through no fault of his own.
With a pair of helpers against the Panthers, Jarvis has 19 goals and 10 assists in 34 games. He's among the league's top goal scorers while constantly showcasing himself as one of the best two-way forwards. He's a versatile player, and while he wouldn't get time on the power play on this stacked roster, Jarvis could be deployed on the penalty kill to give the big guns a rest.
With the emergence of Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard as top-tier stars, and the deep pool of Canadian players for the selection committee to pick from, a long-term injury is another big hurdle for Jarvis's hopes of making the Olympic roster. Frankly, it likely has sealed his fate as being among the final cuts before the Team Canada roster is announced on New Year's Eve.
As a Hurricanes fan, there is obvious bias in my hopes that Seth Jarvis will be among the 22 skaters selected to represent Canada. In a perfect world where Jarvis is fully healthy, I'd say the committee would be making a foolish decision to keep him off the roster. With the injury adding a new wrinkle to the equation, it feels like it isn't in the cards.
Potential disappointment could be ahead for Canes fans when the decision is announced in less than two weeks. However, the priority should be getting Jarvis healthy again. As great an honor as this would be, there is still over half of a season to play for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. Jarvis is a big part of that, so his long-term health and safety are of the utmost importance.
While I've been mostly negative about his chances, I'm still holding out hope that this injury isn't anything too serious, despite Brind'Amour's comments. Seeing Seth Jarvis represent the Hurricanes in Milan would be incredible. Even if the chances are small that we'll actually get to see it, the door isn't completely closed until the roster is finalized. Until then, we'll keep our fingers crossed.