Better Luck Next Year: Carolina Hurricanes edition
As NHL teams are officially eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown looks back at the highs and lows of their seasons, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The 12th edition focuses on the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Good
One fine Finnish duo. Linemates Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen are the Hurricanes’ leading scorers and have looked good doing it. In his second NHL season, Aho has set career highs in goals, assists, and points. Teravainen is having a strong year, too; his 23 goals and 62 points are the highest of his five-year career.
Lots of cap space. Come July 1, the Hurricanes will have quite a chunk of change to play with - almost $26 million, to be exact. There are RFAs to be re-signed and a couple of UFAs who might be brought back, but they'll still have a significant amount of money available to improve the team in a market where things aren’t getting any cheaper.
A solid prospect pipeline. The past few years, it’s seemed the Charlotte Checkers are the ones who’ve benefitted from the Hurricanes' prospect pool. Ron Francis did a good job stocking the cupboard during his tenure, but it’ll be up to his successor to utilize those resources. Valentin Zykov, who’s scored six points in eight games, and defenseman Roland McKeown will be ones to watch for next season.
The Bad
Subpar goaltending. When the Hurricanes signed Scott Darling to a four-year, $16.6-million contract last May, they certainly didn’t expect him to have such a disastrous season. Darling’s .888 save percentage made Cam Ward’s .905 look good by comparison. The Hurricanes were forced to rely on Ward more often than they probably would have liked, instead of Darling shouldering the majority of the starts. Some of this can be blamed on poor play and some on the failings of the defense.
An inconsistent defense. While the Hurricanes' defense is young and full of potential, it’s still, at best, inconsistent and unpredictable. Considering the depth available, they should have been better, but that didn’t always translate on the ice. This isn’t a new problem, either. It’s hard to recall the last time the Hurricanes were able to ice a decent blue line for even part of a season.
One bad stretch. For a good portion of the season, the Hurricanes looked like a playoff team. And even late in the season, they still had a shot at capturing a wild-card spot. They didn’t do themselves any favors, though, as evidenced by a truly impressive collapse. Losing 11 of 15 games during a crucial stretch effectively wiped out any chance the Hurricanes had of making it to the postseason for the first time in nine years.
Questions
Who’s going to be GM? Not long after Tom Dundon took over as the Hurricanes new owner, he relieved Francis of his duties, ending his four-year tenure in the role. Francis was then appointed president of hockey operations. Dundon announced the next GM would report directly to him, but less than two weeks later, the search was put on hold as Dundon didn’t feel he had the time to do it properly. This news came out around the same time as reports of three possible candidates withdrawing interest in the position. It’s not going to be easy to find someone willing to operate under Dundon’s parameters for the job.
Does Bill Peters return? Peters won’t have his fate decided until Dundon hires a new GM, but he could decide to take advantage of a clause in his contract (he has one year remaining) as a way out. Up to one week after the end of the season, Peters can terminate his contract. But if he stays, he could have more sway with a new GM than he did with Francis.
What needs to be fixed? One of Carolina’s primary needs is a first-line center. Is that Victor Rask? Maybe. Or will he be traded while his value is high? Though the defense has been glaring at times, all that really needs to be done is to surround the youth with some complementary pieces. As for goaltending, Ward is in the last year of his contract. It might be wise to keep him around for another year or two as a veteran presence while Darling figures things out, and hope for better results next season.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)