1. The 2019-2020 Hurricanes
This season has seen a lot of new faces wear Hurricane red. During the off-season, we saw fan-favorite Calvin de Haan get traded to Chicago. As well as franchise veteran Justin Faulk dealt to the reigning champion St. Louis Blues. There were also other players traded as well. And some left during free agency too.
But man did the Hurricanes bring in some talented players. Several were brought in via trades, including Erik Haula, Joel Edmundson, and probably my favorite new addition, “Optimus Reim” James Reimer.
Free agents Ryan Dzingel and Jake Gardiner were also brought in. The latter didn’t meet expectations for a while, but we did see his game start to improve after Dougie Hamilton went down with a season-ending injury.
Oh, and there was the whole offer sheet thing over Sebastian Aho with Montreal too.
Justin Williams eventually made his return midway through the season too. Which added a good veteran leader to the team on and off the ice.
At the trade deadline, we saw the departure of multiple prospects including Julien Gauthier as well as the previously mentioned Erik Haula and beloved fan favorite, Lucas Wallmark. In return, we received Sami Vatanen, Brady Skjei, and Vincent Trocheck.
Now onto something that plagued the Hurricanes throughout the season.