Frantisek Kaberle scored the Carolina Hurricanes' game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. The champions learned Monday that Kaberle may not get a shot at an encore until the closing weeks of this coming season.

A critical contributor to the Hurricanes' power play, Kaberle underwent shoulder surgery in Chicago on Monday to repair a torn labrum. According to the team, Kaberle, 32, will need as many as six months to recover from the procedure.

The bad news came three days before the official start of the Hurricanes' training camp. It also came less than four weeks after the team learned that high-scoring left wing Cory Stillman -- another key contributor to Carolina's power play -- would miss up to the first four months of this season after surgery on his right shoulder.

Kaberle spent part of the summer in his native Czech Republic but returned to Raleigh last month for an examination of the lingering injury from last season. At the time, team officials were still optimistic that Kaberle could avoid surgery with continued rehabilitation, Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Monday.

"The shoulder got gradually worse over last season, but we had hoped it would strengthen over time with rehab," Rutherford said. "When he went back home [after visiting Raleigh last month] he found that he really didn't have enough strength to feel comfortable starting the season."

Last year was Kaberle's first with the Hurricanes, and the sixth-year veteran led all Carolina defensemen in points (44) and assists (38). He played in all 25 of the team's playoff games and ranked second among all NHL defensemen with four playoff goals.

"It's not going to be easy to replace a player like Frank, but it's going to open the door for some other guys," Rutherford said.

Possible replacements include David Tanabe, a former Hurricanes draft pick. Tanabe was re-signed last month to a one-year deal worth $900,000.

Other contenders for more playing time include defensemen Andrew Hutchinson, 26, and Anton Babchuk, 22.