Carolina Hurricanes: 10 reasons to keep this team in Raleigh
The NHL is expanding at a rapid pace right now, added on by the success of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Carolina Hurricanes should stay put, though.
With the Carolina Hurricanes having both ownership and attendance problems right now, there’s really no other NHL franchise in flux as much as them. Raleigh is a great place for hockey in the south, but it’s not holding up through the tough times.
The recent announcement of new majority owner in Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon could be a step in the right direction. Former Hall-of-Fame owner Peter Karmanos Jr. did not put much effort toward filling the seats at PNC Arena in the past decade.
Attendance took a big drop over each of the past eight seasons. Yet, with a good midseason push from the Canes to finally make their way into the playoffs, the crowds are starting to get better. PNC Arena could be a great place to witness hockey games by April.
There were even rumors of the Canes moving out of Raleigh completely over the past few years. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly reassured the fan base that the Canes are not going anywhere anytime soon and that the league backs hockey in North Carolina.
We’ll see how this team fares down the stretch of the regular season. A lot falls on how the Canes do in the next three seasons. Pushing any playoff drought past 10 years puts any franchise in a tough spot to not relocate, especially from a southern city. General manager Ron Francis, and the entire front office, should feel some urgency as to getting this team ready for the playoffs.
Here’s 10 reasons why the Carolina Hurricanes will stay in Raleigh for the foreseeable future.
10. Bill Peters possibly making progress
The rumors about Bill Peters on the hot seat ran rabid for a good portion of the season. Peters has some strategies that are unusual, to say the least, to make the Canes competitive night in and night out.
However, you cannot doubt that Peters is starting to make some progress with this team. Whether that be from the natural development of a team full of young talent, or his strategies actually paying off, something is working that did not the past few seasons.
Even though the Canes are in last place in the Metro right now, they’re still within striking distance of a playoff position in the East. Peters did not have the Canes in that same position his previous three years with the organization.
If Peters does end up leading the Canes to the playoffs this year, there should be no questioning of his position as head coach, or this franchise’s place in the Carolinas. This team only needs one run to the playoffs to see the fans come out in numbers.
9. Possible push for new promotions
Under Karmanos Jr., the Canes did not have much of a push for promotions, or ticket offers that could draw fans to fill the seats. However, Dundon seems to have made it a priority to get the seats filled and the fan base more excited about hockey in Raleigh.
Occasional events like “superhero night” and the “Homegrown Series” are really the only things Carolina fans have to draw them to the arena, outside of the game itself. And, while tickets got cheaper while the Canes struggle, if they are successful again those ticket prices will go back up.
Cheap tickets are not the only thing that will draw fans to watch game, especially when they know the team is not likely to be in the playoffs at the conclusion of the regular season. Running promotions like bobblehead nights and autograph signings can really excite fans.
Especially when you’re playing in a market that is strong on family culture, having family-friendly events goes a long way to bringing multiple people in each car that can get those attendance numbers up. Getting above last place in the league in attendance numbers would definitely help out.
8. Visible improvement this season in some areas
The difference in the standings in the month of January should bring some hope for the Canes faithful. Through 45 games, the Canes have 48 points, and actually held a wildcard position for about a week earlier in the month.
However, with all hope lost for the Canes as it pertains to the 2017-18 season, there could be some good takeaways from what happened. The fact that they were in playoff contention that early in the season makes for a good reason to believe next season.
Moreover, the Canes continue to build a young roster, even if there were some very major shakeups in the front office. Carolina has some very good things to build around in the coming years, and contention does not look too far away.
That would really make it a shame if the ownership and NHL gave up on the Canes when it feels like they’re knocking on the door. The next two seasons will play a large role in the determination to what happens with the Canes come the time that the lease runs out in Raleigh.
7. Playoff run could happen in 2019
We mentioned the real possibility of the Canes making a huge push in the Metro in 2018-19. However, this summer has a laundry list of needs that should be addressed before that can happen. It’s up to the Canes to finally break through and get the fans excited next spring.
Seeing other teams around the Eastern Conference like the Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs rise up this year should make the fans even hungrier for results. Carolina has the tools necessary to make something good happen, but we haven’t seen that come through on the ice yet.
Fans need to stop being left saying “what-if” after the conclusion of every season. Especially since the Canes aren’t that far out of contention most years, the continuous disappointment drags on even heavier.
The hope left for the Canes to get into the top eight picture in the East next season lies with the fans and the team alike. In terms of keeping the team in Raleigh, making the playoffs is the most important factor for the excitement to build again in North Carolina for this squad.
6. Recent investment in fresh talent
Although the Darling situation has not worked out so far, the Canes still have to rely on his next season. It was a huge adjustment for Darling this year, compared to what he had with the Chicago Blackhawks in previous seasons.
Former general manager Ron Francis made a huge invesment in Darling, which is why the Canes really need this to work out. Too often now the Canes have tried to bring in a big name goalie through the trade market or free agency, and it hasn’t worked out as planned.
Outside of Marcus Kruger and Darling, the Canes did make some good moves last summer. Bringing in Justin Williams and Trevor van Riemsdyk did really help the team this season. Someone like van Riemsdyk especially had a breakout season in 2017-18.
Carolina has the opportunity to add some additional resources during the 2018 off-season. They have a ton of cap room, and a lot of needs to work with. That normally spells good news for a team trying to turn things around, and get some buzz with the fan support.
5. Sebastian Aho emerging as face of the franchise
Since the Canes got rid of former captain center Eric Staal back in 2016, they’ve been in search of a true face of the franchise. The search had come up short until a 2017 Calder Trophy Contender emerged for the team last season in Sebastian Aho.
After leading the team in points in 2017-18, Aho should be considered among players that could have breakout seasons across the league next year. Saying that Aho hasn’t already broken out is just dead wrong, but he is not an established star in the NHL yet.
Most big hockey fans already know about Aho, and he’s truly amazing skill, but his scoring potential has not been fully realized yet. He improved an already solid stat line from his rookie campaign this year, to lead the team with 65 points.
Entering his third NHL season, this is where Aho needs to take the Canes to the next level. Only Teuvo Teravainen came close to matching his point total this season, finishing one point shy of Aho’s 65. If Aho sees the same type of progress next season that he did this, then the league will be put on watch for the rise of the next Finnish star.
4. And Jeff Skinner is still here too
Whether Tom Dundon decides to move forward with Jeff Skinner still on the roster in the coming years, he’ll still be a very emphatic part of the offense. Skinner adds some scoring support for the team outside of Teravainen and Aho.
Although Skinner had a down season in 2017-18, he’s shown in the past that he has no trouble responding in the goal department the following year. In 2016-17, Skinner posted a goal total of 37, leading up to only 24 scored this time around.
That 24 goals scored for Skinner is his lowest goal total since 2014-15, when he posted just 18. We know that Skinner is an established natural scorer around the league, and he could easily bounce back to at least getting above 30 goals next season. His shooting percentage was the thing that truly went out the window this season.
The inconsistency of the scoring through the middle of the regular season is a large reason why the Canes are no longer playing games in mid-April. If Skinner proves his worth again next season, he’ll get back to the level of some of the better goal scorers in the league.
3. New ownership could put new life into the organization
Dundon already showed his commitment to getting the energy surrounding this team in Raleigh up immediately. While Carolina still had trouble with attendance this year, they finished above the bottom in terms of average total attendance each home game.
The ideas that Dundon had to spark some excitement from the fans, especially back in February, helped to fill the seats more often. However, since Carolina was eliminated from the playoffs just a month after Dundon made all these huge efforts, a lot seems all for naught.
Shaking things up with the Canes starts at the top, and the front office has a much different look than it did before Dundon took over. The thought that he has too much control over the organization could make an impact on prospective new general managers, and head coaches too.
Yet, the right personnel involves coaches and staff that is as committed to the success of this franchise as Dundon is. A lack of energy coming from the side of Peters, at times, is a problem that could get resolved here very soon. Dundon is helping to bring new life to this franchise.
2. The Triangle is a rapidly growing area
It’s not just the team itself that plays a huge role in making any franchise successful. They need to have the opportunity to expand the fan base in a growing area, which is exactly what the Canes have in Raleigh, and Triangle entirely.
As long as the local supporters feel that it is worth the drive through traffic to these games from surrounding places like Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex, Cary, and Garner, there’s a lot of people who could make it out to these games. Being out of contention for nearly a decade makes a lot of locals feel like this sort of travel is not worth it to watch the team play.
Once the Canes had some very solid results, from 1999-2009, to have an impact on the playoff picture in the NHL, residents of the Triangle were very excited about watching the games. Now, the wavering support is far past wearing off, to the point of extreme disappointment for even the most loyal of fans.
The encouraging thing here is that it should only take one appearance in the playoffs to fill up PNC Arena again. It’s an electric atmosphere when fans come out in large numbers, and we saw that a few times during the 2017-18 campaign.
1. Young team with a new wave of talent coming soon
We also got to see the Charlotte Checkers funnel a lot of talent to the Canes at the end of the regular season. Charlotte had a good season, and is still participating in the Calder Cup Playoffs. That’s the only place that Carolina fans can watch some of their favorite young players from the regular season still playing.
The best players that Canes fans can look forward to watching in the coming seasons are Valentin Zykov, Warren Foegele, Roland McKeown, and Alex Nedeljkovic. There’s still a long list outside of those four players, but the point is there’s a lot to actually look forward to in a positive light.
It’s a shame that the Canes didn’t give Zykov and Foegele the chance earlier in the season, but their development will still provide the team with more scoring depth well into the future. The line featuring Aho, Teravainen, and Zykov could even be the team’s top forward line next season.
Next: 5 players key to the success of the Carolina Hurricanes next season
That partly takes care of the first line center issue the Canes have, and all three players are young and have very high ceilings. Put it all together next year, and the fans will support the Canes more so than in the past five years. It’s tough to keep a fan base engaged in hockey in the southern United States when they’ve fallen off the grid completely in the past nine years. Carolina is a franchise worth keeping in Raleigh, especially when they’re trending upward, which they could be right now.