Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Bold Predictions for 2020-21 NHL Season
The Carolina Hurricanes Revenge Tour officially starts tomorrow.
The 2020-21 NHL Season is officially underway today, and the Carolina Hurricanes will be back in action tomorrow against the Detroit Red Wings.
This season, while truncated, is sure to have more than a few twists and turns in the offings. New divisions mean new rivalries. New rivalries mean new Twitter arguments. New Twitter arguments mean more hot takes, and this article is chock-full of ’em. Hot takes, I mean, not Twitter arguments.
Nevertheless, this season is bound to be a crazy one, and essentially anything can happen. Granted, there are a few mainstays; teams like Detroit, Anaheim, and New Jersey are sure to be near the bottom of the standings, while teams like Tampa Bay, Boston, and Vegas are all but shoe-ins for the playoffs. It’s the in-between stuff that matters, at least to me.
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I fully believe the Carolina Hurricanes are the cream of the crop of that ‘in-between’ stuff, but I think they may even be able to list themselves squarely alongside the latter group mentioned above after this season.
Long story short, the Canes are no longer a “wildcard” team. They’re competitive, young, and built to withstand the turbulent times that undoubtedly still lie ahead. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, though. First, I’d like to invite you to join me on a journey to the Land of Hot Takes while we explore three bold predictions for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2020-21 NHL season.
3. The Carolina Hurricanes Win the New Central Division
This mildly spicy take kicks off my list of three bold predictions for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2020-21 NHL season.
For starters, the Carolina Hurricanes got off a bit easy (in my opinion) with the new division realignment. They could’ve just as easily been slated in the new East Division, which houses the usual Eastern Conference powerhouses: Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia. Instead, the Canes’ main worries lie within the likes of Tampa Bay, Dallas, and maybe even Columbus.
With Tampa Bay losing Nikita Kucherov for the season, and Dallas losing Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop for at least half the season (alongside their recent COVID concerns that has postponed the start of their season), the Carolina Hurricanes have an opportunity to outlast the competition and snag the #1 seed in the new Central Division. That is, if they can themselves keep injury and COVID at bay, which is another story and challenge in and of itself.
TL;DR, the Canes could win the new Central Division, and this take isn’t quite as spicy as it first appears. I rate it a 1,000 on the Hockey Scoville Scale that I just invented for the purposes of this article. You’re welcome.
Hockey Scoville Scale Rating: 1,000.
2. The Carolina Hurricanes Will Acquire a Top 6 Forward Before the Deadline
Okay, you guys had to have seen this one coming.
The Carolina Hurricanes have made leaps and bounds of progress when it comes to acquiring Top 6 talent, most notably the addition of Vincent Trocheck during the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline.
This year, I think will be no different, although the Canes have reportedly set their sights on a different target: Patrik Laine.
Now, I’m not saying the Canes are absolutely going to acquire him, but right off-hand, he’s the first one that jumps to mind. Reuniting Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine would undoubtedly be incredible to see, but only if the Carolina Hurricanes can manage to pull it off without shipping out Brett Pesce (which is who the Jets seem to be most interested in acquiring, alongside Martin Necas).
Another option might include Columbus’ Pierre-Luc Dubois, who also reportedly wants a change in scenery. It’s still a bit early to tell, but I think the Carolina Hurricanes make one more big move to add to their offensive core before fully settling into Dynasty Mode.
Hockey Scoville Scale Rating: 29,000.
1. The Carolina Hurricanes Win the Stanley Cup
Now, if you didn’t see the last one coming, you definitely should’ve seen this one coming.
The Carolina Hurricanes have never been more competitive than they are now. Granted, their goaltending is still a teensy tiny question mark, and their offensive depth scoring could use a nice infusion of pep, but in all seriousness, the Canes’ window for winning a Stanley Cup is now wide open.
Why not this year? The Carolina Hurricanes have a favorable schedule in a favorable division. They have the talent and depth to go the distance. They have to coaching staff to support them the whole way. Why not the Canes? There are more reasons for why they should win the Cup this year than why they shouldn’t. That hasn’t happened in a very, very long time.
This take, while spicy for those outside the fanbase, shouldn’t be all that spicy for those of us who have been firsthand witnesses to the ups and downs of this franchise since 2006. The Carolina Hurricanes are in arguably the best spot they’ve been in since moving down from Hartford, and are genuinely in the running to be the next great NHL dynasty since the “3-in-5” Chicago Blackhawks.
Hockey Scoville Scale Rating: 2,006,000 if you aren’t a fan. 2,006 if you are. I said what I said.
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Question for CC Readers: What are your bold predictions for the Canes this season?