Cardiac Cane
Fansided

Carolina Hurricanes: Three Ways to Improve the Team for 20-21 Season

By Omar Abdelgawad

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 06: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammates Jake Gardiner #51, Martin Necas #88, Andrei Svechnikov #37 and Brett Pesce #22 of the Hurricanes after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of the NHL hockey game at Gila River Arena on February 06, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 06: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammates Jake Gardiner #51, Martin Necas #88, Andrei Svechnikov #37 and Brett Pesce #22 of the Hurricanes after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of the NHL hockey game at Gila River Arena on February 06, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes skates (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes skates (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

Build the Offense Around the Youth

Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas, Morgan Geekie. What do these names all have in common? All four are the best scorers and finishers on the team and all four are 23 years of age or younger.

This team is going to have to lean on the younger players and try and get more of them. Especially those that can finish and score. This team as it is, is excellent at generating scoring chances, but only a handful are consistent in finishing them off with a goal. They lead the league this season in average xG per game yet are middle of the pack in terms of actual scoring.

To change that and get this team’s scoring to match its ability to generate chances, not just take shots on net, this team will have to relook the forwards and try to bring in more guys that can finish.

That means making guys like Geekie NHLers and perhaps trading away and replacing the guys who are struggling to finish and score. Right now those guys are Jordan Staal and Brock McGinn.

I know what you are yelling at me right now, “their value isn’t in scoring, it’s in their physical presence!” and you would be correct. But this team has lost 10 games this season by a single goal. A little bit more finish, just a tad bit would have added 18  points to their point totals (two of those losses were in OT) and had them leading the division with 99 points.

But just scoring goals isn’t the only way to win games, stopping them also works. So how do we fix the defense?

Home/Analysis