Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Joe Corvo was the most recent player to get clipped by a skate on the back of the leg, and it's the type of injury that has to be addressed, Don Cherry says.

Corvo is expected to be out from eight to 12 weeks after getting inadvertently cut by young Washington defenceman Karl Alzner earlier this week.

Hurricanes athletic trainer Peter Friesen told the Raleigh News-Observer that the majority of the damage was done to the muscle attached to the Achilles tendon.

While players have tendon guards in the back of their skates, many like to have some give in their skates, leaving an area exposed between the back of the leg and the guard.

Cherry said on his weekly Coach's Corner segment that some young minor hockey players look on the guard as an uncomfortable nuisance, modifying it to dangerous levels.

"The kids actually — you won't believe this — cut it … and pull it back so their tendon guards won't be exposed," he said.

Cherry said when he played, a horizontal eyelet helped keep the tendon guard affixed to the leg.

NHL points leader Joe Thornton agreed with Cherry that it's a serious issue.

"You see guys with their Achilles always open, they don't tie up their top lace, so therefore the back kind of gets open ...," Thornton told Hockey Night in Canada after San Jose's loss to Calgary on Saturday.

Thornton said he got in the habit at a young age of tying his laces and taping the tendon guards because he often inherited the skates of his older brother.

Montreal fans can relate to losing their top defenceman to the type of injury Corvo suffered — all-star Andrei Markov was felled in the first game of the season.

"This play right here's gonna cost the Montreal Canadiens the playoffs," Cherry said of the collision between Markov and teammate Carey Price.

Markov has only recently been back on skates after surgery to repair a tendon in his left foot and is eyeing a January return date, which would be a speedy recovery from such an injury.

The Russian was the second Canadiens player in as many seasons to get cut like that by a skate.

Forward Robert Lang, who was among Montreal's points leaders at the time, needed surgery to repair the Achilles tendon in his left leg after colliding with Stephane Yelle of the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1. The Czech veteran recovered from the surgery and is currently playing with Phoenix.