Carolina Hurricanes: 3 storylines to watch this season
theScore's NHL editors take a look at three storylines to watch for each NHL team heading into the regular season.
Who will start in net?
Cam Ward never really lived up to the promise of winning the Conn Smythe as a rookie during Carolina's 2006 Stanley Cup run. His save percentage reached a high mark of .923 in 2010-11 but has been falling steadily since, with the 30-year-old posting a dismal .898 in 30 appearances last season.
Ward's struggles (and injuries) opened the door for Anton Khudobin, who appeared in 36 contests and an impressive .926 save percentage. The Hurricanes re-signed Khudobin at $4.5-million for two seasons, which is the same amount of time remaining on the six-year, $37.8-million deal Ward signed when the team was confident he was their long-term starter.
Should Khudobin supplant Ward as the No. 1 option, Carolina will have a backup netminder carrying a cap hit of $6.3-million, which is probably why the team was attempting to trade Ward during the offseason. For his part, Ward admits injuries have affected his confidence and led to inconsistency.
"But excuses are for losers, so those don't do you any favors," Ward told NHL.com.
At this point, those excuses might cost Ward his job.
Fixing the power play
New coach Bill Peters has plenty of work ahead of him, but Carolina's ailing power play is the most glaring issue from a coaching perspective. The Hurricanes posted a 14.9 percent power-play conversion rate over the last two seasons, putting them near the bottom of the league.
One way Carolina can improve with the man advantage is simply by staying healthy. Key offensive producers like Jeff Skinner and Alexander Semin missed noticeable chunks of time last season, throwing off the chemistry of the main power-play units.
The maturation of blue-liners Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy should help puck movement in 5-on-4 situations as well. Andrej Sekera led all defensemen with 15 power-play points, while Faulk was second with eight. More production from the back end will be vital.
Assistant coach Rod Brind'Amour is in charge of special teams so improving the effectiveness of the power play will fall to him.
Driving a Staal-ed offense
Carolina's scoring lives and dies with its top two centers: brothers Eric and Jordan Staal. The two players account for a cap hit of over $14-million, but both recorded underwhelming seasons in 2013-14.
Captain Eric is a few years removed from his 30-goal, 70-point campaigns, finishing last season with 21 goals and a team-high 61 points. Jordan took a step backwards in his second season with the Hurricanes, recording 40 points.
Carolina was tied for 23rd in the league with 207 goals scored as a consequence of the Staals' struggles. Wingers Semin and Skinner rely on the Staals to create chances for them and the Hurricanes offensive depth leaves something to be desired.
Eric will turn 30 in October, so it's possible the best years of his career are behind him, but he and Jordan remain the key to Carolina's offense - for better or worse.