The Carolina Hurricanes are on the hunt for a new ECHL Affiliate after the Florida Everblades have decided to affiliate with the Nashville Predators for the 2019-20 season.
In a move that was shocking to most, the Florida Everblades made the decision to switch affiliation from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Nashville Predators for the 2019-20 season.
The Everblades are coming off of one of their best seasons in franchise history, turning in a record of 50-16-5-1 to mark the third-highest regular season win total in franchise history. The Everblades have been a force to be reckoned with in the ECHL; they’ve made the playoffs every single year but one since their inception. Six of these campaigns have resulted in advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This leaves the Carolina Hurricanes in a tough, albeit potentially advantageous, spot. The players that the Hurricanes have under contract would leave the Everblades and depart for whichever team they decide to affiliate with going into next season. Seeing as how the Hurricanes have two solid goaltenders at the ECHL level, any of these teams would benefit from the added help in the crease.
#Blades enter affiliation agreement with @PredsNHL, starting with 2019-20 season.
— Florida Everblades (@FL_Everblades) May 24, 2019
Read more: https://t.co/VxiZKJGpXX#EverRising pic.twitter.com/o23SEqkZL9
This leaves us with the all-important question: Which ECHL team should the Hurricanes choose as their affiliate? There are a few ECHL teams who are not affiliated with an AHL or NHL team, but I know of three teams that would be a great fit for an up-and-coming NHL team looking to finally establish themselves as a dynasty.