The additions of Noah Hanifin, James Wisniewski, Eddie Lack, and Kris Versteeg among others has upped the hype for the Carolina Hurricanes as they prepare for the 2015-2016 season, but what are reasonable expectations for the upcoming season?
The Canes have not played any playoff hockey in over 6 years, and while that means the expectations shouldn’t be too high, it also means that through a lot bottom-14 finishes, the team has stockpiled a lot of good, young players.
Jeff Skinner, Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm, and Noah Hanifin will all be in the spotlight from game 1 through game 82, and the role that these players play will have a direct impact on how well this team does.
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The best case scenario for these players are all very similar. Justin Faulk will look to break into the top-10 of NHL defensemen and become the best up and coming blue liner in the league right next to Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
Jeff Skinner will look to return to his former glory and become the 35+ goal scorer that the Carolina Hurricanes desperately need.
Elias Lindholm will look to establish himself as a top-line forward alongside the likes of Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, which means he will need to up his point totals and become a more consistent offensive weapon.
Noah Hanifin will look to be the second coming of Aaron Ekblad, which would put him in the rookie of the year running and could also place him on the top defensive pairing next to Justin Faulk at some point in the season.
If all of the above happens, which is incredibly unlikely, than the Hurricanes will undoubtedly be a competitive playoff team in April and beyond.
If it doesn’t happen, then the club must look elsewhere in the lineup for help. Enter Kris Versteeg, James Wisniewski, and Eddie Lack, all of which are newcomers to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Versteeg and Wisniewski are both veteran players that have the opportunity to make a big impact on the Hurricanes, and they will be expected to do so.
Kris Versteeg will likely get top line duties on opening night alongside Elias Lindholm and Eric Staal, and it will be his responsibility to keep it and continue to produce like he did in preseason.
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski will be expected to be a big minute, top-four blue liner from day one, and he has stated in the past that he is ready to step in that role and be a big contributor. He will need to be a solid force on the back end for the Canes to make a run at the playoffs.
The goalie situation is also still a question mark, but it is more about who will claim the starting job, not will anyone claim the starting job.
Eddie Lack has won over many people with his personality and stellar periods of play throughout the preseason. On the flip side of that, Cam Ward has also had some very good starts in preseason.
It has yet to be announced who will get the start on opening night, but expect the two netminders to split the first two starts and who ever plays better will get the start in game three, then the club will go from there.
So, despite all the additions and glimmers of real hope, expectations are still hard to place. My expectations are more about individual performances and playing together as a strong unit more so than a place in the standings.
I think this team is good enough to compete for a playoff spot, but a lot of think have to go very right in order for that to happen.
Keeping reasonable expectations in mind, a 9th-11th place finish in the Eastern Conference would be a good season for the Carolina Hurricanes. Anything higher than that would be a playoff birth, which would be a very good season, and anything lower would put them in bottom dweller territory, which would be a major disappointment, in my opinion.