Carolina Hurricanes: The Path to Contention
For the Carolina Hurricanes to get back on the road to contending in the Eastern Conference, these are the steps they need to take.
Entering the Trail
I’ve been putting this article off for a little while, but have come to the conclusion that it is inevitable. The Hurricanes have some of the best defense in the NHL, which would complement the overall team core of any current contender.
I’m not going to lie to you folks, I don’t think the Hurricanes are legitimate cup contenders at this point. I do not think this is due to an underlying factor of a lack of experience or anything like that, whatsoever.
In fact, I think playoff experience is incredibly overrated. Obviously, young players need time to develop into better players. However, there seems to be a looming idea that playoff experience is a deciding factor, regardless of team quality.
Anyone that suggests teams like the Oilers (who are off to a horrendous start) or the Leafs are not cup contenders, due to a lack of playoff experience are simply incorrect. There are no statistics showing that playoff hockey is any different from regular season hockey, game wise. It might feel a lot more exciting, but that’s because an entire year of hockey is being compressed into a thrilling 7-game series.
No, the Hurricanes are not contenders because they are simply not good enough at this point. Their offense, while underrated, is also underwhelming. The goaltending depth, is also yet to be where it needs to.
This rather large bit of writing is going to look deep into the soul of the Hurricanes. Hopefully Ron Francis will see this article and do everything I say. I cannot be wrong. I am always right. Nothing in this article, has even a microscopic chance of being at all wrong. Don’t you dare even question it. If you even question questioning it, you are holding the Canes back. You monster.
So, dear reader, with my mandatory paragraph of sarcasm out of the way, let’s get cracking… or storming… or hurricaning- I don’t know. Let’s get to it.
Why the Hurricanes aren’t Contenders Yet
The Canes are not contenders precisely for the reasons I mentioned previously. Their offense is lacking and they don’t have the goaltending depth. At the very least, we need to come to some sort of realization, that our offense just isn’t that great.
Jeff Skinner is very good and Lindholm, Aho and Teravainen have bright futures. Justin Williams is decent (and 36). This offense isn’t bringing us through 4 seven game series. Think about all of the teams the Hurricanes would have to get through.
The Canes would run into too many strong defenses and quality goaltenders. Carolina is currently 22nd in the NHL in goals, 30th in powerplay percentage and 27th in shooting. How would this fare against teams like Columbus, Washington ,Tampa and Ottawa?
And, of course, I know what you’re thinking. The Hurricanes haven’t looked this good in years. Give it time, let their offense bloom. I completely agree with this. In fact, a whole section of the article is going to address it.
But right now, this offense isn’t capable of carrying the Canes to a cup. I don’t think it’s quite as awful as most make it out to be, but there is a whole lot of room for improvement.
Goaltending thoughts
Now, let’s move on to the topic of goaltending. Scott Darling and Cam Ward have impressed me, thus far.
Darling, in particular, has been thrown into a tough situation. He was one of the best backup goaltenders in the league, last year, and the Hurricanes pounced on a perfect opportunity to sign him.
His .910 save percentage, is decent. It will improve as the season progresses. But, the problem is, I just don’t know how good he will be in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at the Penguins and the Predators, from last year.
You know what carried these teams to the finals last year? What is the sparkling offense of the Pens? Was it the Preds’ unique lineup of offensive defensemen? Nope. It obviously helped, but neither of them would have been their without the goaltenders.
Pekka Rinne had a .930 save percentage through 22 playoff games, while Marc-Andre Fleury dragged the Pens through the Caps-series. This just goes to show how crucial a great goaltender can be.
How to put this team together
To build a good team, you need 12 solid forwards, 6 solid defensemen but only 2 goalies. So, theoretically, let’s assume that forwards, defensemen and goaltenders are all equally important.
This means that 1 goaltender = 6 forwards, or 1 goaltender = 3 defensemen. This is a big deal. In a playoff series, you need your goalie to be consistently great. A lot of the time, a great goaltender is relied on to win his team the game; bailing them out of a poor performance.
So then, why can’t Scott Darling pull of these kinds of performances. Look, Darling is a good goalie. I wasn’t quite sure if he was suitable to be an NHL starter, but he has proved himself worthy. Well, when is the last time a simple “Good” goalie won the the cup?
Well, Matt Murray was terrific last year, so not him. Corey Crawford was great the year before that, so not him. Before that: Quick, no. Crawford again, no. Quick again, no. Tim Thomas had that Cinderella run out of nowhere, so no. So… Antti Niemi.
Yes, Antti Niemi in the 2009-10 season is the most recent, decent cup-winning goaltender. And he was backed by one of the best teams of all time. When I look at Scott Darling, I see a good, not great goaltender.
When I look at the Carolina Hurricanes, I don’t see one of the best teams of all time. I don’t see Scott Darling as being a Stanley Cup caliber goaltender. Maybe he can pull off a Tim Thomas-like Cinderella story, but I don’t see it.
I do, however, think the Hurricanes will be contenders in 2 or 3 years. This, is due to one simple thing: How they rebuilt.
Why the Canes are soon to be Contenders
The Carolina Hurricanes have arguably been rebuilding for just under a decade. But they have done so in such a way, that they will force themselves into a contending position in a few years. Now, when I use the phrase: “rebuild,” you’re probably thinking of a tank and draft process. Trade your best players, acquire draft picks, redo your depth etc.
The Hurricanes did this to build themselves a good team, but something in particular sets their rebuild apart. They drafted oh so very strategically. Just take a look at their young and promising defensive core.
Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin and Justin Faulk are all examples of the Canes’ strategic drafting. To add insult to injury (to opposing teams) the Hurricanes have acquired all of the promising, young defensemen they could find.
Trevor van Riemsdyk was traded from Vegas, Roland McKeown from LA and Klas Dahlbeck off waivers. Taking in as much defensive goodness as possible, is all part of the plan.
Immediate future and end of the road
I keep referring to some sort of plan or strategy, so what am I talking about? Well, look at it this way. There are two ways to rebuild a team through the draft. You can either draft the best players willy-nilly and hope it pans out, or draft strategically, like the Canes have done.
When you purposely draft players from one area, you create a surplus of them. Other teams want to feed off your surplus, so they’ll offer you players already proven to be good. Since the Hurricane have such a huge surplus in defensive talent, another team may trade a quality forward or goaltender in exchange.
This way, you don’t just have to pray your draft picks will be skilled enough for a great all-around team. You already have a lot of one thing, that you can trade for good things that you don’t have. This is what the Hurricanes have been doing for almost a decade, the drafting part that is.
Soon, we will enter part 2 of our transition into contention: trading our defense for offense. This will be the x on the spot, the mark of playoff hope, the path to contention, if you will. The only way this could go wrong is if we completely mess up our trades; if we don’t get enough in return for our glorious defense.
Ha, what could go wrong, nothing! Everything will be great, as we glide our way to a Stanley Cup. This could never lead a stray. Right? Right? R-right… Anyways, we just have to hope Francis knows what he’s doing, and creates the best Hurricanes roster possible.
Next: 3 reasons Canes won't make playoffs with Bill Peters as head coach
The Carolina Hurricanes are marching down their path to contention. They draw nearer to the end, every day. They’re not quite there yet, but it’s only a matter of time.