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5 Things Carolina Hurricanes' Fans Should Worry About
The Carolina Hurricanes future is bright, but there are still a few areas of concern
Ok, this is the first part of a two-part series where I look at the good and the bad for the franchise. I was going to do the good parts first but decided to face the warts of the Carolina Hurricanes like eating your vegetables before dessert. Even the biggest homer for the Carolina Hurricanes won’t deny the team has some serious issues. One only has to look at the team’s record, both recent and overall, to see the promise of this young team along with their pitfalls.
But this list isn’t about short term problems for the Hurricanes. These are long term problems that could seriously hamper the franchise’s efforts to rise above mediocrity. Never bad enough to earn a top three draft pick (Spoiler Alert: This will come back up later) and never good enough to make the playoffs. Feel free to let us know how you would solve these problems as well either through comments here or by tweeting us @CardiacCane. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. These problems won’t figure themselves you know.
Jan 31, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his hat trick goal during the second period against the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
1. Lack of Top End Talent
Ok, let me start out with this before everybody gets their jimmies rustled. There is a lot of talent on this team. Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk are proven quantities while Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho show they want to be numbered among the league’s top players as well. But there is no one on the team that could be considered among the league’s truly elite players; players like Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. I mean even the Wild have a guy like Eric Staal, oh wait….
That’s because those players are extremely hard to get. Either a team overpays in free agency for a player several years past their peak or they draft them with a top three draft pick. The third, often unknown, way is just finding some random Russian, signing him to an ELC, and hoping he works out. So far that plan is batting one hundred but only if you’re the Chicago Blackhawks.
Outside of that, you just have to hope you find a golden ticket hidden somewhere deep in the draft. To put in perspective how rare that is (for a non-goalie) the last time a team truly found a great talent deep in the draft was Jamie Benn who was drafted by the Stars in 2007 with the 129th overall pick. And before Benn, it was Joe Pavelski taken 205th overall in 2003. Some fans think that Matt Duchene could be a solution for this problem, but I’m not quite sold on the idea. Especially, after I heard Joe Sakic’s asking price for the 25-year-old center. At some point, though, the Carolina Hurricanes are going to need to bring in a top end talent.
Oct 2, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (35) during a preseason hockey game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
2. Goalie Situation
We’ve written many times here about the problems the Carolina Hurricanes have with their situation in net. Not only has the poor play of Carolina’s goaltenders this year kept the team from truly competing for a playoff spot, but down the road, things get even worse. After the end of the 2018 season, the Hurricanes do not have a goaltender under contract. While that may sound great after watching the duo of Cam Ward and Eddie Lack the past two seasons, there isn’t really anyone in the farm system who seems ready to assume the mantle.
The heir apparent, Alex Nedeljkovic hasn’t really played all that great this year in the AHL:
That’s right the third string goalie Empty Net has let in fewer goals than Nedeljkovic while playing more games. Sure Alex had a good showing in relief of Cam Ward against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but one game in the grand scheme of things doesn’t really mean much. Since evaluating goalies is a crapshoot, the Canes could have a future Lundqvist in their system and not know it. As of right now, though, there is no long term plan in net and no sign of one anytime in the near future.
Feb 4, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin (28) looks on against the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena. The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
3. Signing Top Free Agents
The Carolina Hurricanes are never going to be a the top destination for the best free agents on the market. Even when the Hurricanes are able to acquire top talent they usually have to do so at a premium. Remember the last top free agent the Hurricanes signed? Yeah, it’s that guy pictured up above Alexander Semin. While I’m not denying Semin’s talent, his play for the Hurricanes came nowhere near his $7 million price tag.
Obviously, the Hurricanes management at the time felt they needed to overpay to get very good (at the time) talent. So far we haven’t seen Ron Francis have to make decisions like these because the franchise is rebuilding. Building contenders requires judicious use of the free agency market, and given Carolina’s stature compared to other markets that may mean overpayment. Once the players are here, they love Raleigh, but it’s getting them here that’s the problem. If the team starts winning more a la Tampa Bay this won’t be so much an issue but as of right now it is.
Oct 20, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk (27) shoot the puck against Calgary Flames during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
4. Expansion Draft Issues
Right now the only Carolina Hurricanes defenseman eligible for the expansion draft is Justin Faulk. While I think this is the simplest of the issues on this list to solve, the reason I include it here is why hasn’t it already been done? I know there is plenty of time to solve the issue, and I don’t think that Ron Francis should rush and just sign any random person.
Maybe it’s just years of abuse at the hands of J. R. mismanagement, but the possibility, however small, that Carolina loses their top defenseman for nothing just scares me. It’s definitely me just being paranoid, but the longer this drags out the larger my anxiety grows that something, anything, will go wrong. And guess what, history is on my side on this.
Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Jake Bean puts on a team jersey after being selected as the number thirteen overall draft pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
5. Lots of Picks but no Top Picks
Remember problem 1. about the lack of top talent and how the easiest way to get it is with a top three pick? The closest the Canes have come to a top pick is two fifth overall picks in 2013 and 2015 entry drafts. The players taken with those picks, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin, could turn into great players, but neither one of them look like they are going to set the hockey world on fire anytime soon. It’s a big problem for the Hurricanes as no team to win the Stanley Cup in the Salary Cap era has done so without a top three pick at some point.
Right now the Hurricanes are nowhere near a top three draft pick. In fact, they are probably in the worst position in terms of their first round draft picks; not bad enough for the top three, but not good enough to make the playoffs. So far Carolina has compensated for this somewhat with their excellent second round picks of players with first round talent. Sebastian Aho, Justin Faulk, and Victor Rask were all second rounders along with Brett Pesce being a third and Jaccob Slavin a fourth.
Without those top picks, it just makes it even more difficult for Ron Francis to bring in the cheap elite talent that turns teams into Stanley Cup contenders. Hopefully, players like Aho, Bean, and Gauthier are able to play at high levels relatively soon which would help offset the lack of top picks but so far history isn’t on the side of the Hurricanes of that happening
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