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Carolina Hurricanes: Why the Playoffs Should be Priority Number One

By Omar Abdelgawad

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 26: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his first period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Championship Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs at RBC Center on May 26, 2009 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Penguins defeated the Hurricanes 4-1 to clinch the NHL's Eastern Conference title.(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MAY 26: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his first period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Championship Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs at RBC Center on May 26, 2009 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Penguins defeated the Hurricanes 4-1 to clinch the NHL's Eastern Conference title.(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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We are now almost halfway through the 2018/19 NHL season and the Carolina Hurricanes are dangerously flirting with the concept of missing the playoffs for a full decade. Just how important is it to this franchise to make the playoffs, even if it means getting swept in the first round?

The current record for consecutive years missing the playoffs is ten years, held jointly by the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. The Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the active record, are at very serious risk of making it a trio if they fail to make the playoffs. They are currently only a few points outside of a playoff spot in a Metro division that has been terrible all round. The question becomes: how much should they risk to get those extra points to ensure they get into the playoffs this season?

For many, the perceived reward of making the playoffs only to be knocked out early are minimal. After all, you aren’t included in the draft lottery the following year. There are many unknowns in regards to the rental players you collected to make it that far. The worst loss would be in whatever picks or prospects you traded away to get those rentals as you skate away will nothing from the playoffs.

While these are all true for a larger market where making the playoffs isn’t a foreign concept and the concern is lifting 35 lbs of silver in ultimate victory, for a smaller market like Carolina, the rewards outweigh the risks. The rewards that the Carolina Hurricanes can attain will bring benefits that can change the entire culture revolving around the sport in Raleigh for generations to come.

So how much of the Carolina Hurricanes’ future should Tom Dundon and Don Waddell risk to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved in almost a decade? Here are a few massive reasons why sacrificing some future potential is worth playoff hockey returning to the Carolinas – even if the playoffs end on a sweep in the very first round.

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