Hurricanes: Five Unanswered Questions from a Forgettable January
The Carolina Hurricanes are backed against a wall going into February and have many must win games ahead. Here are the top unanswered questions for the last month.
January took forever to end it seems. The Carolina Hurricanes did not like that month. While that month saw the return of Justin Williams, it also saw the loss of their All-Star Dougie Hamilton. In the eleven games played in that month the team went exactly 0.500 at 5-5-1 and found themselves in need of a win to get back into a playoff spot.
They did so early yesterday against the Vancouver Canucks but are still locked in a battle for a playoff spot over halfway through the season. That has left many questions yet to be answered.
Last month we had several unanswered questions and for the most part many were answered in some shape or form during the 96 day month of January. For once Erik Haula seems to be back and fully healthy with the only game missed being to allow Justin Williams to come in for his first game back of the season.
The battle between Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Haydn Fleury seems to have come to a standoff with the loss of Hamilton. Both defenders are now paired up on the third pairing trying to keep the ship from sinking. Teuvo Teravainen was once again robbed of a ‘Last men in’ vote despite continuing to light up the scoreboard and being the team’s most versatile offensive threat.
As of if the 2020s will be a better decade, so far it has both given and taken from us in the first month of the new decade. Almost everything has come to a complete deadlock. Perhaps with February on the Horizon, this team will see better days.
That brings us to this month’s unanswered questions. There is so much to still try and figure out, especially with the season steamrolling toward the finish line with the All Star Game break done and out of the way. But will the Hurricanes find answers to these questions sooner or later?
What is going on with Erik Haula in the Locker Room?
Noone wants to hear that one of their better players is having a riff with their head coach, especially a coach that is as likeable as Rod Brind’amour. Unfortunately that is exactly what has been reported between Erik Haula and Rod.
With him back healthy and returned to the lineup in a more permanent manner, there seems to be an inconsistency between him and the coach that may or may not have led to him being the healthy scratch upon William’s first return to the game. Haula returned to the lineup the very next game and there are no longer any more of these rumors but it has been confirmed as happened at least once.
That has opened a door towards many questions. With Haula going to free agency in the upcoming summer and his injury a seemingly nagging issue, one of the biggest questions was if he was going to be on the trading block. The recent riff has fueled those speculations further with many wondering if he would be happier on a different team.
Perhaps the team will not make a move on him and see if he can work himself towards getting a new contract in the summer with any team. Perhaps the Hurricanes are happy to simply stand pat with the roster and hope all those with expiring contracts all compete for a new one soon.
Either way, the question remains the same, is Erik Haula happy being a Carolina Hurricane? Or does the former Finnasotain wish to move on from North Finnolina?
Is James Reimer about to Swipe the Starting Position from Mrazek?
As I am writing this, James Reimer wins another shootout overtime game. Petr Mrazek, who has gone 2-5-0 in the seven starts this month is in danger of losing his starting position to his backup. Reimer who came in on a trade with the Panthers that involved Scott Darling has been the better goalie last month posting a 3-0-1 through four games.
His latest win at PNC Arena has many wondering if the Hurricanes should turn to Reimer more often. The numbers support this. In his last 14 starts Reimer has gone 10-2-1 with one of his starts credited as a loss to Mrazek in a rare turn of events against Toronto where the team that pulls the goalie gains a lead that is lost by the replacement.
So where do the Hurricanes turn from here? With only 30 games left on the season they need every point they can get, and so far it has been James Reimer that the teams seems to play better in front of.
While the blame cannot be solely on the goalie, after all many of the games Mrazek has started didn’t see many goals from the offense, there is something to be said about a team feeling more confident in front of a certain netminder. Is that the case here with Petr Mrazek, who is still averaging a decent 0.904 sv % or is the defense to blame?
That is a question to be answered moving forward in the season as they march towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How fast they find the answer may be critical to if they make it to the playoffs.
What will the Hurricanes do by the Trade Deadline?
While only rumors and hearsay now, the Carolina Hurricanes seem to be in a position to make big moves by the deadline as they seem to want to add to both their offense and defense within the next three weeks. So many names and teams have been indicated as possible trade partners for the Canes as they march forward.
One such name is Brenden Dillon, who was indicated as a defender the team was trying to attain over the last few weeks. But until Don Waddell picks up the phone and makes a few phone calls, it seems like nothing is happening so far.
The Hurricanes have plenty of assets they can trade away from the deep defensive depth of prospects to the treasure trove of picks in the upcoming draft to include a pair of first rounders. It almost seems nonsensical to not attempt to bring in some more talent to this team and build a better roster to take on the playoffs.
This Metro Division has made it even more critical that this team discover a more eloquent scoring touch and perhaps some refreshing players to add to the roster and get this team out of its 0.500 rut that they had dug themselves into so far in 2020. There are no longer any room for mistakes.
Can Justin Williams Continue his Pace?
Justin Williams has gotten on the scoreboard in every game he has played on so far this season. While the scoreline only says he has two goals and an assist, with the two goals scored against the Winnipeg Jets and the assist coming in the loss against the Vegas Golden Knights, it would be remiss to not mention the two game winning shootout goals in the other two games.
If the winning shootout goal counts as a game winning goal then Justin Williams so far has the game winning goal in 75% of the games that he has played so far. For a man of his age and the fact that he missed over half the season, this is incredible.
The remaining question is if he can continue that pace through the next thirty games. While that is not very realistic, the real question is if he can continue to be a contributing factor. His presence at PNC has rallied the fans and team, but as the team heads towards this road trip there are many unknown factors that can come up as they play away from the fanbase.
Justin Williams is a welcomed piece back with the Hurricanes. If only there was a way for Rod Brind’Amour to stop healthy scratching his top nine players in order to slot Williams into the fourth line.
Is this Hurricanes Team in Trouble of Missing the Playoffs?
The million dollar question. Will the Carolina Hurricanes make the playoffs. So far this season they have been outside a playoff spot for a total of 48 hours or so. Enough to give most Caniacs a heart attack. But this is a good team and they shouldn’t be teetering for a wild card spot. Luckily for them there is still plenty of hockey left in the season.
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The most important games will be against the Metro Division especially teams like the Penguins, Blue Jackets, and Islanders who all are sitting ahead of the Hurricanes in the standings. The Flyers will also be an important adversary as they nip at the Hurricanes’ heels for the final wildcard spot. The trick will be to win these games in regulation and avoid giving them the loser point.
Do it while their mascot is busy punching little children.
But in seriousness, the Hurricanes cannot afford to have any sort of losing streak for the rest of the season. While it is unrealistic to think they will win every game left on the docket they need to keep losses to a minimum.
If they can accomplish those two tasks, beating their Metro Rivals in regulation and keeping losses from racking up they will be in prime position to make another run at the Eastern Conference finals and the Stanley Cup.
These questions can and will be the make or break of this team. We will return to look back at these and see how well these questions are answered in the short month of February.
Question for CC Readers: What Questions do you have for the Carolina Hurricanes after January?
Next. Predication for 2020. dark