Carolina Hurricanes: Trevor van Riemsdyk’s 2019-20 Season Outlook

After rehabbing from shoulder surgery this offseason, what can we expect Trevor van Riemsdyk to bring to the Carolina Hurricanes lineup in 2019-20?

Injuring his left shoulder in game two of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past season, Trevor van Riemsdyk underwent surgery back in May. With an original estimated recovery timetable of four to six months, it is possible that he will miss the start of the season. When he does return to the Carolina Hurricanes’ lineup, what can we expect to see from the blueliner?

At 28, van Riemsdyk is the elder skatesman of the Carolina Hurricanes’ defense. Originally acquired during the 2017 NHL expansion draft from Vegas in exchange for a second round draft pick, TVR was brought in by then General Manager Ron Francis to help solidify the 5/6 pairing on the back end.

Since then, Trevor has appeared in 157 regular season games with the Carolina Hurricanes, while averaging 16:04 time on ice per game across two seasons. Over that span, he has 30 points (6 goals and 24 assists), with a +/- of 5. In the playoffs he was held pointless in the nine games he appeared in before getting injured.

In his five year NHL career, he has appeared in 315 games putting up 61 points (14 goals and 47 assists), with a TOI of 17:22 while being a plus 17. Thus far in his career, he has only played a full 82 game season once, back in 2015-16 with Chicago, missing a fair amount of time because of injuries since then.

With van Riemsdyk otentially missing the start of the season, an opportunity is available for any of Haydn Fleury, Jake Bean, Gustav Forsling, Roland McKeown, or Chase Priskie to cement a full time roster spot, and with one year left on his deal, possibly making TVR expendable. Looking ahead, should he be ready in time for training camp or no one steps ups in his place, what kind of play can we expect to see from van Riemsdyk post injury?

Following his months of rehab, we shouldn’t expect to see that much of a drop off in play. Thus far in his career, each time he steps on the ice Trevor provides the team with a calming presence. Although he isn’t known for providing much offense or making stellar highlight reel plays defensively, TVR is the perfect depth defenseman who can fill in your top four, should injuries occur, and not look out of place.

Should he be ready to go come training camp, he’ll have the same amount of time as everyone else to readjust to the speed of the NHL game. However, should he miss the start of the season, we could see a conditioning stint of sorts to get him back up to speed, all of course depending on how much time he misses and if he agrees to it. Either way, he should know early on in game action if his shoulder is back to 100%.

If he plays the whole year, we should expect to see approximately three goals and 14 points, something that he has constantly averaged thus far in his career. With 47 career assists, it’s likely that he’ll hit the 50 mark this season. If his time is cut short, we will see somewhere in the single digits in points, with just a goal or two, all depending on how many games he actually misses.

While these numbers aren’t anything to write home about, TVR remains an important piece to the Hurricanes’ blueline. Often, you’d like for your depth defenseman to play a quiet, yet calming game, providing your key players a breather without posing as a liability and TVR does just that. No matter when he returns, the Hurricanes will certainly welcome Trevor van Reimsdyk back with open arms.

What are you expecting to see from van Riemsdyk next season?