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Carolina Hurricanes: What went wrong this season?

By Andrew Miller

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 17: Carolina Hurricanes players unite after scoring a goal in the first period during the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes on March 17, 2018, at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 17: Carolina Hurricanes players unite after scoring a goal in the first period during the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes on March 17, 2018, at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – FEBRUARY 24: Victor Rask #49 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with a puck during warm-ups prior to an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on February 24, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – FEBRUARY 24: Victor Rask #49 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with a puck during warm-ups prior to an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on February 24, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Serious hole to fill up the middle

The first line center need is something that is hit on quite often from any opinion site or source for the Canes. They did not address it during the off-season or during the course of the season itself. Setting a top three center rotation of Jordan Staal, Ryan, and Rask is a possible recipe for failure.

Rask is falling way short of the hype over the past two years, and trading him while he still has value is a good possibility too. Carolina carries a solid set of wingers on the roster, but there’s a disconnect with the men up the middle.

Among all the centers for the Canes, even if you count Lindholm, Staal is the leading scorer on the team. Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, Justin Williams, and Skinner all have more points than Staal and Lindholm.

Staal, Lindholm, Ryan, and Rask actually all sit in consecutive order below those four players for the Canes in overall scoring. This could continue to be a huge issue for the Canes if they cannot address the need, or get a breakout season from one those players next year.

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