2021 Carolina Hurricanes Season Preview: The Lineup

The Blueline Express

I feel like I can say this is the best blueline in the NHL and leave it there, can’t I? This is a backend loaded with talent up and down the lineup. Elite players, NHL stars, and one of the most underrated players in the entire league are on this blueline and it just amazes me how good this backend is.

I’m going to start with Jaccob Slavin. This man is just a freak. For years, he was one of the best-kept secrets in hockey, and now everyone knows his talent. Widely considered the best pure defensive defenseman in the game, Slavin is also capable of scoring. A tally of 6 goals and 30 assists last year left him 5th on the team in scoring. That’s incredible for a defensive defenseman.

Dougie Hamilton was a little under a point per game last season, broke his leg, missed 33% of the season, and still finished highest in the scoring department of anyone, not on the SAT line. He missed 20 games and finished 7th in Norris voting. He is one of the best defencemen in the league right now. The man is fully capable of putting the team on his back and winning a game on his own. This is what Carolina was after when they got him from Calgary.

Between the two of them, that top pairing is just outstanding. Slavin covers the defensive game perfectly and it gives Hamilton a license to play almost as an extra forward at times. It is a pair that have won many games for the Carolina Hurricanes in the last two seasons, and I expect next season to be no different.

Behind them is one of the most underrated players in the entire National Hockey League. He will always fly under the radar because he’s not someone that blows the scoresheet up, but Brett Pesce is one of the best defenders in the NHL. His defensive excellence allows players beside him to go forward and play far more attacking hockey, and he’s capable of babysitting someone who isn’t so great defensively.

Speaking of people who aren’t so great defensively… Jake Gardiner. I cannot explain to you what happened last season with this player. By all analytics, he was an offensive dynamo. His end product was just… not there. That may have been due to a lack of depth scoring, or the fact that this dude walked under a thousand ladders every day to get to the rink and has a year of bad luck.

Gardiner and Pesce, in theory, seem to fit like a glove. Pesce being the defensively responsible one, and Gardiner being someone who can score from here, there, and anywhere. It just didn’t work like that. Gardiner finished the season hot, and Pesce still hasn’t played in the NHL since the David Ayres game. Maybe we see this duo turn a corner.

Brady Skjei… this acquisition still makes no sense to me but whatever. Skjei is a big physical defenceman who will smack anything that moves. His offensive abilities are limited, and he really does need a partner who can babysit. Luckily, that is something the Carolina Hurricanes have in spades. It’s very unlikely we see Skjei any higher than the maximum of the second pairing.

Haydn Fleury is likely going to be his defensive partner. A versatile defenseman, Fleury showed flashes of his talent during the 2019-20 season. Nothing to indicate he’s displacing any of the big 3 the Canes have, but certainly enough to spark hope that there’s something there with the former 7th overall pick. He’s likely going to play on the 3rd pairing with Skjei or Gardiner.

This final pairing I would not expect to see too often. If nothing else, just because the top 4, well, top 3 are so fantastic. I would expect to see Fleury get penalty kill time on the second unit, and Skjei and Gardiner to split time on the second powerplay unit to balance the minutes out. This back end is loaded. All are very talented defenders in their own right. It’s probably the best league-wide.

Now we move on to the Carolina Hurricanes’ signature headache.