Kraken lose forward for four to six weeks

The Seattle Kraken announced that forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out on a four-to-six-week timeline.

Per the Kraken’s announcement, the 38-year-old veteran forward suffered his injury during the team’s Monday loss to the Dallas Stars. Bellemare was knocked out of the game by the injury, and he ended up playing in just over four minutes.

This injury is a setback for both Bellemare and the Kraken. For Bellemare, he loses the ability to contribute during a crucial time in the Kraken’s season as they work to attempt to re-enter the Pacific Division playoff picture. He’ll also miss the Winter Classic in the new year, which is unfortunate as well. For Seattle, they’ll be without a reliable veteran bottom-sixer for that important stretch.

A veteran of nearly 700 NHL games, Bellemare is a widely respected defensive forward who has appeared on both Selke and Lady Byng trophy ballots earlier in his career.

A winner of 51.5% of his career draws, Bellemare is a valuable presence at the faceoff dot as well as in the defensive zone, and although he’s averaging a career-low ice time per game the loss of Bellemare is still a notable one for coach Dave Hakstol’s squad.