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5 Things Carolina Hurricanes’ Fans Should Worry About

By Matthew Barlowe

Jan 21, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Victor Rask (49) flips the puck past Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky (17) during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Columbus beat Carolina 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Victor Rask (49) flips the puck past Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky (17) during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Columbus beat Carolina 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 31, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his hat trick goal during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his hat trick goal during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Lack of Top End Talent

Ok, let me start out with this before everybody gets their jimmies rustled.  There is a lot of talent on this team.  Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk are proven quantities while Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho show they want to be numbered among the league’s top players as well.  But there is no one on the team that could be considered among the league’s truly elite players; players like Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin.  I mean even the Wild have a guy like Eric Staal, oh wait….

That’s because those players are extremely hard to get.  Either a team overpays in free agency for a player several years past their peak or they draft them with a top three draft pick.  The third, often unknown, way is just finding some random Russian, signing him to an ELC,  and hoping he works out.  So far that plan is batting one hundred but only if you’re the Chicago Blackhawks.

Outside of that, you just have to hope you find a golden ticket hidden somewhere deep in the draft.  To put in perspective how rare that is (for a non-goalie) the last time a team truly found a great talent deep in the draft was Jamie Benn who was drafted by the Stars in 2007 with the 129th overall pick.  And before Benn, it was Joe Pavelski taken 205th overall in 2003.   Some fans think that Matt Duchene could be a solution for this problem, but I’m not quite sold on the idea.  Especially, after I heard Joe Sakic’s asking price for the 25-year-old center.  At some point, though, the Carolina Hurricanes are going to need to bring in a top end talent.

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