Cal Clutterbuck gingerly arose from his stall and stiffly began to walk out of the Islanders’ dressing room at their East Meadow practice facility on Monday.
The gritty right wing said he will likely need offseason back surgery.
“I don’t know what kind of surgery yet,” Clutterbuck said as the Islanders conducted their end-of-season exit interviews. “It could be just a routine disc thing. Or it could be as much as fusion surgery.”
Clutterbuck was unable to play in the Islanders’ 5-2 loss in Game 4 of their second-round series with the Hurricanes on Friday night at Raleigh, North Carolina after playing in the first seven postseason games.