Carolina Hurricanes: 2021 Season preview
With the Carolina Hurricanes already underway in their training camp endeavors, it’s about time to drop the puck on a new NHL campaign. With the Hurricanes following up on their first division title since 2006 (albeit in a division that they are not usually competing in), the Canes will be trying to find success in alternate formats for this upcoming season.
Carolina return to the Metropolitan Division this year, after being separated from the bulk of this division when they were moved into the central last year. With the Canes looking to capture more than just a division title in this upcoming season, let us have a deep dive into their strengths, weaknesses, and what needs to go well for the Canes in order for the team to see success.
Obviously, we start with the new faces in Raleigh, and the notable losses from last year’s roster, and has there been a lot of changeover on this roster or what? The core remains the same, but almost all the supporting pieces have been changed in some way or another. Only the core remains from that miraculous 2019 Eastern Conference Finals run.
Key additions: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ethan Bear, Ian Cole, Anthony DeAngelo, Josh Leivo, Derek Stepan, Brendan Smith, Antti Raanta, Frederik Andersen
Key departures: Dougie Hamilton, Alex Nedeljkovic, Petr Mrazek, Brock McGinn, Warren Foegele, Cedric Paquette, James Reimer
Something that should stand out right away is that there are two new netminders in Raleigh. On top of that, half the defensive unit has changed and that will prove difficult in its own right. Forwards changing has been a theme in this league since the dawn of time, and even a change of a few defenders or a goaltender isn’t a big deal, but this much turnover is worth noting.
Furthermore, the Hurricanes have had some coaching changes. Tim Gleason replacing Dean Chynoweth as the defensive and penalty kill coach on the bench, with Gleason leaving his role as coach for development regarding defenseman, or the defensive system of players. Gleason’s job is not glamorous, but it’s a job that needs to be done. You cannot win the Stanley Cup with a makeshift D core.
With the changes accounted for, we look towards the team’s strengths, weaknesses, and what this team needs in order to become a successful hockey club. Right, now with all of this out of the way and said, let us take a deep dive into what makes this team so strong. What can you rely on night in and night out if you’re watching the Canes this season?
The forward core
I will build a potential lineup below. If you are new to Cardiac Cane, every name below is hyperlinked to Hockey Reference if you wish to check out stats or anything about the player. If we go with some of the line combinations we’ve seen in preseason, the lineup could look like this:
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Martin Necas
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Vincent Trocheck – Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter – Jordan Staal – Jesper Fast
Steven Lorentz – Derek Stepan – Jordan Martinook
As far as the forward lineups around the NHL stack up, this is certainly among the best of them. With the talent on every line and the best center depth in the NHL, this Canes lineup is incredible. Kotkaniemi is the only true question in the top six, and even then Niederreiter can step in and do a good job. Staal and Fast can run a true shutdown line with either Kotkaniemi or Nino. Lorentz and Martinook will provide a great forechecking base on the fourth line.
Andrei Svechnikov is already viewed as one of the best young wingers in the NHL, but last season was not too great for him. If he takes that step we all know that he is capable of, then we could very much see that top line explode for the Hurricanes. Svechnikov has the ability to hit triple digits with his point totals, and with a new deal, we’ll see if the removal of pressure helps him.
Aho is only a year removed from a 40 goal pace year. He’s going to put the puck in the net, he always does. It’s a tale as old as time. Aho struggles in October and then explodes after that. He almost has to get warmed up to the NHL level again before he can fully dominate like we’ve seen him do time and time again for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Teuvo Teravainen is coming off a year where he missed a lot of time due to injury and COVID-19. Normally a point per game winger, Teravainen likely will lose his place on the top line to start the season. Obviously, Carolina will always have the option to reinstate him on the Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen line that has dominated the NHL for 2 years now. But Teravainen will have a lot to prove this year.
Vincent Trocheck is playing for a contract. He’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. He’s got the ability to put up major numbers when he wants money. As a member of the Florida Panthers, he put up 76 points in a season. We’ll see what he can do with some improved linemates this year (with all due respect to Nino Niederreiter).
Speaking of Nino, he’s also out of contract at the end of the year. He’s playing for his future in Carolina or a major payday elsewhere. His $5.25 million is already viewed as being a little high, but he could prove himself to a lot of organizations this year that would be willing to fork out large money for the winger.
And the most exciting story to me for this forward core is KK. Free from Montreal and given time to develop properly out of the shadows of Montreal and with a genuinely fantastic center core to play alongside, Kotkaniemi is playing this year to prove the entire province of Quebec wrong about him.
There’s so much to like about this forward core. With the questions surrounding it, and the storylines that are always developing. This year’s collection seems to be particularly riddled with narratives and options. I cannot wait to see what comes of this forward group with the regular season only 8 days away as I’m writing this.
New Blueline crew
We’ve seen Carolina boast one of the strongest bluelines in hockey for some time. With the loss of Hamilton, there’s now some uncertainty about what is going to happen on the back end. Who will be the quarterback on the first powerplay unit? Who will step in shorthanded? What is happening with the extra defensemen on this team?
I think we assume the blueline will look something like the following:
Jaccob Slavin – Anthony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei – Brett Pesce
Ian Cole – Ethan Bear
Now, Jake Gardiner is going onto the long-term injured reserve for the foreseeable future after undergoing back and hip surgery. That was announced by Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell a while ago now. He’s going to be out for some time with the recovery time after these surgeries.
Slavin is Slavin. Do I need to say anything else? One of the best defensive defensemen in the sport, Slavin can hide the blemishes of almost any partner. While Slavin isn’t a traditional powerplay quarterback, his ability to move the puck around at even strength certainly isn’t a weakness. He can provide offense too and knows how to get pucks through traffic or aim for tips.
DeAngelo is someone I’ve tried to avoid talking about to the best of my capabilities. His off-ice history is very concerning, but from a pure hockey perspective, he is a potential 50 point defenseman and someone very capable of quarterbacking a powerplay. He’s a fantastic puck mover. The trick with DeAngelo will be making sure he keeps his nose clean.
Skjei is yet another former New York Ranger helping to make up the new core of this team. Yes, Skjei has been in Raleigh since the 2019 NHL trade deadline but the big defenseman has made a positive impact with the team since coming down from the big apple. Skjei has become a vital penalty killer and even played a large role in the team coping without Slavin during the playoffs.
At 2RD, we find Pesce. I’ve said this time and again, I believe Brett Pesce is the single most underrated player in the entire NHL. This is a player who finished top 20 in Norris voting last season. Yes, it was probably undeserved, but he’s still far more deserving of the praise he gets. A staple on the penalty kill, his versatility cannot be overstated. He’s a premier piece on the Carolina back end.
Ian Cole is someone I am so excited to see in Raleigh. His character is just the living embodiment of everything the Carolina Hurricanes have tried to be under Tom Dundon. Cole brings the experience he gained as a back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. He also brings a physical edge the Canes haven’t had in years.
Finally, we get to the only new trade acquisition of the summer. Bear is a very promising young player that Carolina acquired from the Edmonton Oilers. With Bear, the Carolina Hurricanes have acquired a young defenseman with great skating ability and a very good ability in his own end. There’s a lot of upside with this player, mainly due to his fantastic awareness defensively.
This defense core is a lot different from last season, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s certainly deeper in terms of the personnel, and it’s very unique in its ability to role three stable pairings. There are questions about the production from the backend, but it’s got the framework to succeed again. There’s a lot for this D core to live up to, and it’s got the pieces it needs to do it.
New look netminders
Carolina’s crease has been an area of instability since the team was brought into existence in 1997. It’s often been a revolving door of netminders. For example, the trio of netminders the Canes had last year! Any of them could have played on any given night. However, all three have departed the organization. With that in mind, let’s look at the goalies who have taken their places in the blue paint.
Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta are the two men charged with keeping pucks out of the net. This has been a major challenge for Raanta in the preseason seeing how the Finnish netminder has struggled. I do not know if it’s with the rust or if it’s just preseason and he isn’t putting as much effort into games that don’t matter. Either way, the Carolina Hurricanes have two very capable netminders.
Andersen has been the definition of a calming presence behind some very make-shift defenses in Carolina this exhibition season. With the Canes never really uniting a true top 6 for the netminder to get stability behind, he played well and made some very flashy saves. Andersen needs to continue to play like the netminder he has been in the preseason and the netminder he was in Toronto.
In Toronto, Andersen was overplayed and I think everyone knows that. He used to play 65 games a season and only get nights off when the team was on the second half of a back-to-back. But this team will not force him to play as much. Raanta is capable of sharing the net, plus there are some members of the Charlotte Wolves who could show their abilities.
Raanta is a netminder who just needs to stay out of the treatment room. he’s got the ability to backstop a playoff team. He’s only been a recognized starter in one season during his career and he put up a ridiculous number in terms of his save percentage. He’s more than capable of stopping pucks, he just hasn’t done it to this point because he’s always hurt.
He’s going to be asked to be a 1B here in Raleigh in all likelihood. That’s a very simple job for someone with the ability of Antti Raanta. With the Carolina Hurricanes traditionally running tandems between the pipes, Raanta will have a role to play within the organization. He’s also going to be asked to babysit some of the children on the team, especially the Finns.
This tandem is the question mark of the team. The Carolina Hurricanes organization will go as far as they are taken by their netminder. With the Canes netminders being the only question, I would love to know what you guys think! Talk to us on Twitter about it and we’ll reply! Tell me how you think the team will do.
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