Carolina Hurricanes: Way too Early Off-season Outlook

Carolina had a great season in 2019-20, albeit being cut short abruptly. However, there is always room for improvement and that’s the same here.

It’s not hard to see Carolina have had some major success n the current season, mainly thanks to the devastating top line that they have the luxury of icing. However, there’s also been some poor performers up and down the roster. I don’t think there is one person you can point at and blame them for the Canes not safely being in the playoffs because it’s more due tot he team.

There’s been a lot of players breaking out of their usual molds for Carolina this year, and some big leaps from young kids. We’ve seen rapid progression and it’s promising more and more with each passing day. There’s a lot of youth around, and it’s talented youth rather than playing kids for the sake of being young. It’s a very bright future the Carolina Hurricanes are looking at.

However, this season has not been all roses and sunshine. I think that there isn’t anyone out there who can tell me honestly the team has played flawlessly all season long. If you have the urge to say that, you are lying to yourself. Like every team, the Hurricanes have holes up and down the lineup that they should look to fill.

So where can the Carolina Hurricanes look to improve going into what, I can only assume at the time of writing this, will be an extended off-season? It’s a strange time in the NHL, but that doesn’t mean the future will be. So looking towards the new season, what needs to change for the Hurricanes to challenge for the thunder-dome style Metropolitan division title.

Petr Mrazek’s Blooper Reel

I am very grateful for everything Petr Mrazek has done for the franchise. Don’t mistake that, but he’s not someone that can steal a playoff series, and get you deep into the playoffs. He’s a very talented backup goaltender. 100% an NHL goalie, but with the duo the Canes have at the crease, Petr is just the weaker of the two at the crease, and it’s time for an improvement.

This is not to say Petr Mrazek has been bad in Carolina, far from it. He has become a fan favorite and has started to show some of the upside he had when he was drafted by Detroit. Carolina needs someone though who can hold down the fort. Mrazek has a bad habit of coughing up goals on the first shot of a game.

Mrazek hasn’t been a liability in any stretch of the imagination. There’s no hint of anyone saying that. However, he’s being put into a tandem role when he is more of a high-end backup and it’s showing that he is very usable at the NHL level. He’s been good, but he’s not good enough to justify keeping around when there’s such a major market for goaltenders this off-season.

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There are just so many alternatives available this summer that are just more worthwhile than Mrazek. The premier name being thrown around is Vegas’, Robin Lehner. Among alternatives are Vancouver’s Jacob Markstrom and Washington’s Braden Holtby. All 3 are major improvements on Mrazek, which speaks more about the other 3 than Petr.

2nd Line Wingers

This isn’t on Nino Niederreiter specifically, but since he is the 4th top 6 winger, he will be the one who I focus on here. It’s not so much that Nino is even a bad player, but his production took a hit this year. He’s not the blazing talent everyone saw when he first came over from the Minnesota Wild, and that was to be expected. He plays a sound defensive game, and he just couldn’t produce.

He still has a lot of positive uses, for example on the powerplay. A big body with the ability to tip a puck-like Nino is something that should not be under-valued. However, at even strength, his production just wasn’t there. He was playing great hockey, but my word this man sleeps under a ladder or breaks a mirror with every skating stride he takes. He was so incredibly unlucky this season.

Niederreiter put up 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in 68 games. Not bad totals, but that should not be sniffing a top-six spot. Unfortunately, he is the highest-scoring winger that isn’t already in the top 6, so it’s his by default. I believe that Niederreiter on the 3rd line is a great asset to have, but that leaves a hole to fill in the top 6.

Looking strictly at left-wingers (assuming Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen stay together on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho, and Martin Necas is the other 2nd line winger) there is a wide variety on the free-agent market. Among the bigger names are Florida’s Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov. Either of which is a big improvement on the top 6 forwards for the Canes.

Again, this doesn’t fall at the feet of Niederreiter. He’s being asked to play a role that he is not cut out to play in the top six, and there’s too little production for Nino to stay in the top 6 long term.  Carolina become way too reliant on the top line (Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen) when no one else is producing. It’s difficult to shut the SAT line down, but if it’s done, Carolina cannot win.

The Logjam Lives On

It’s no secret Carolina has a blue-line that is stacked with more riches than the Queen’s treasury, and there’s an overwhelming wealth of talent. From Norris caliber producers to Rod Langway favorites, Carolina boasts an array of talent on the back end. What needs to happen with the blue line is simple. Just clean out the log jam!

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• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
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At the moment of writing this, Carolina has 10 NHL caliber defenders in their system. 9 of them in the NHL, and Jake Bean who’s decided to toy with the AHL and is looking like a man amongst boys. Something needs to be done to sort this out because 10 defenders are too much for the dead-puck era New Jersey Devils, let alone the new-age run and gun style game that’s played now.

Jake Gardiner, Jaccob Slavin, Haydn Fleury, Joel Edmundson, Brady Skjei, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen, and Brett Pesce are all under contract at this point. Now, Edmundson, TVR, and Vatanen are all likely to leave in unrestricted free agency, but that still leaves 7 D men for 6 spots. Fleury is a restricted free agent too, but he’s likely to be brought back.

So, the best move for the defense is to add by subtraction. Allow someone like Bean to have a chance in the NHL by moving on from someone like a Haydn Fleury. I’m not saying this is what’s ideal, or even what’s best for the team, but Jake Bean deserves to have a shot at the NHL roster going into next season, and I don’t think he’s going to be denied.

Pesce, Slavin, Hamilton are all locks to be in the NHL for the Canes, and I don’t think flipping Skjei at this point makes much sense. So it comes down to Gardiner, who is usually a 40+ point D man, or Haydn Fleury who’s been underwhelming in his career despite having a good year last year. Just logic suggests maybe Haydn gets moved if Jake Bean is gonna get a shot at the NHL level.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: What do you think the Hurricanes should do to improve this offseason?