Carolina Hurricanes: 5 Unanswered Questions after a Stellar October

RALEIGH, NC - OCTOBER 29: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes enters the ice during warmups with teammates Dougie Hamilton #19 and Sebastian Aho #20 prior to an NHL game against the Calgary Flames on October 29, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - OCTOBER 29: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes enters the ice during warmups with teammates Dougie Hamilton #19 and Sebastian Aho #20 prior to an NHL game against the Calgary Flames on October 29, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
5 of 6
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 15: Haydn Fleury #4 of the Carolina Hurricanes on defense during a 2-0 Hurricanes win over the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on October 15, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 15: Haydn Fleury #4 of the Carolina Hurricanes on defense during a 2-0 Hurricanes win over the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on October 15, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Is Haydn Fleury ever going to see any ice time again?

The Carolina Hurricanes have a Haydn Fleury problem they need to solve. With Trevor van Riemsdyk back and healthy the Carolina Hurricanes now have seven healthy NHL caliber defencemen. With previous question marks like Joel Edmundson and Jake Gardiner proving their worth in multiple ways, Haydn Fleury has become the odd man out.

Lets be real, Fleury is an excellent defender that is being outshined by his incredible teammates on the best defense in the league. Its not really his fault. He would be a top pairing defender on many teams in this league. There is no way Carolina tries to put him on waivers to send him to the AHL, he belongs in the NHL.

We already mentioned how 11 forwards and 7 Defenders is not a good look for this team, so that’s not on the table. At least it shouldn’t. When Martinook gets back to being healthy it absolutely wont be.

So that means that he either remains a healthy scratch or gets placed on the trading block. Either way, as long as his teammates remain healthy, there seems to be no room for him on the Carolina Hurricanes roster.

With three sets of back to backs in November starting tonight, perhaps we will se Fleury back in the lineup sooner rather than later to allow this excellent defense to stretch out their legs and stay healthy. But with Carolina winning with him out of the lineup, perhaps its best to leave well enough alone. The question is; which path will they choose with the young defender?

Schedule