Photo by: TheAHL; This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Accessed from Wikimedia.

Authored By: Adrian Rosati

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The champs are back after breaking a curse of second- and third-round exits that had lasted at least the past six seasons. When playoff time came around, the discussion around the Hurricanes was never “will they win?” It was always “when is the team going to implode this time?” It was really becoming a question of “is it the team, or the way it’s constructed?” Since then, Don Waddell exited and Eric Tulsky came in. Now it’s clear the talent was always there, and the confidence the team got from Tulsky was what they needed to get over the top. Not to say anything bad about Waddell — he constructed the bulk of the team, and credit should land where it’s due — but clearly something about roster utilization enabled the team to finally succeed.

Key additions and subtractions this offseason:

Additions:
D Juuso Valimaki — signed as a free agent

Subtractions:
G Frederik Andersen — lost as a UFA
D Morgan Rielly — lost as a UFA

Evaluation of the Offseason

Eric Tulsky has reaffirmed his trust in his club by making minimal additions and suffering no major losses. It could be seen as a gamble to run Brandon Bussi out there as the starter going forward, but he played a key role in closing out the championship run. While goaltending depth could be acquired down the line, I like the confidence in rolling him out as the guy. I’m surprised the Bruins cut ties with him, but it’s clear the Hurricanes have unlocked his value as a starter. Pyotr Kochetkov is a young, up-and-coming prospect who can fill the backup role. With a season to learn under Bussi, this young goalie tandem could end up being one of the best in the league.

While Rielly was only a depth defenceman, he still provided value for the team. They’ll need to find someone to fill that spot, but with the strong top four they already have, they’re in good hands.

The biggest wildcard doesn’t actually tie into their moves — it’s the injury to Seth Jarvis, and whether Logan Stankoven (a.k.a. “Stank”) can repeat his playoff heroics over a full season.

Jarvis is out four to six months, which will keep him sidelined until late October to the first week of December. The concern is that if the team starts slow and he starts slow, will they be able to recover and hold onto the top spot? I lean yes, but there’s always a chance things don’t go to plan and they end up fighting to maintain a wild card spot instead.

As for Stankoven, he’s only put up 21 goals and 44 points in a season — and that was last season. He was struggling to find ice time in Dallas, which is why he was a throw-in in the Rantanen deal. Can he keep up that pace? Probably, since he was already showing shades of it before his departure from Dallas. But if he regresses, and Jarvis has a quiet start or is quiet in the ensuing playoff run, I’d be surprised to see them make a deep run.

The First 10 Games

The Hurricanes kick off the NHL calendar hosting the Florida Panthers at 5 p.m. ET. The Panthers pose a potential headwind for Carolina, with their additions and their players fully healthy entering this year. There’s no better barometer for the Hurricanes to open the season against — the champs of the last three years. We’ll see who has the upper hand.

The schedule does open up after that, though. They play the Canucks, Flames, and Blackhawks — all teams poised for continued setbacks, with no major moves propelling them to the same caliber as the Hurricanes. Throw the Jets in there too, and that’s another likely win. The Western Canada trip that follows shortly after the 10-game start should stack up even more wins. The wild card portion of the final five games includes two apiece against Washington and Philadelphia, and one against Montreal. Philadelphia is probably a sweep — at worst, a split. Montreal is very winnable too. That puts them at 6 or 7 wins before even factoring in the Washington set and the Florida opener. I do think they’ll be in tough against Washington — Washington probably takes both, but a split is also likely. Against Florida, they probably drop that game, since the momentum of everyone returning healthy could be tough to contain. The first game of the season is so hard to predict with the wild high scoring bouts that can occur. Still, a 6–8 win range over the first 10 games would be a great start for them.

I think the Cup champs save face. They’re easily the best team in the Metropolitan Division and will take the top spot in the division, in my opinion. Washington is their only real threat to knock them off, so a lot of this could come down to how their head-to-head matchups play out. I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to see Washington surge to the top divisional spot, but between the two, I lean toward the team that’s been together the longest.

While it’s still early in the offseason to be certain, the Carolina Hurricanes are going to be a threat for the Presidents’ Trophy this season.