Takeaway 2: Higher quality forward depth is badly needed
Four goals and two assists. That's how much production the nine forwards behind Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov had the entire series against Florida. Half of those goals and assists came from Logan Stankoven. If Carolina wants to win the Stanley Cup, it absolutely needs more from their forward depth.
There is no question that some of the forwards on the Hurricanes are in the lineup to shut down the opposing teams' offense, but that cannot be the majority of your bottom three lines. Carolina currently has that issue. A serious makeover of their forward lineup behind the top three players is desperately needed this offseason. With the free agents and potential trade targets available, Eric Tulsky and his front office have options to choose from to improve the scoring threat on the roster.
With addition comes subtraction. This summer, if Tulsky is aggressive with the assets and cap space Carolina has, numerous forwards currently on the roster will be on new teams next season, for better alternatives the Hurricanes can acquire. No team that has won the Cup recently has had depth scoring problems like Carolina does. This issue has to be addressed if the Hurricanes want to be taken seriously as cup contenders.