Jack Drury – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – COLORADO AVALANCHE – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 16:04:41 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO -APRIL 05: Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) as seen before the start of the second period during a NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues on April 05, 2025, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)

Although Colorado had yet another outstanding season, the result of losing Game 7 to the Dallas Stars in the first round left a bitter taste in their mouths. Seeing former teammate Mikko Rantanen succeed against them and move on in the playoffs just weeks after having captain Gabriel Landeskog return to action after nearly two years made for a roller coaster of emotion. Despite all the ups and downs throughout the season, Colorado finished with 102 points and finished in third place in the Central Division. They were the third best team in the league in CorsiFor percentage (54.1) and were eighth in expected goals for percentage (52.4) just behind Winnipeg (52.44). A midseason trade for goalie Mackenzie Blackwood turned things around quickly for them when it was apparent Alexandar Georgiev wasn’t going to be able to turn his own game around. Now with their roster seemingly set, they’ll look to avoid a slow start that had them chasing the rest of the division down all season.

What’s Changed?

Trade deadline acquisition Brock Nelson re-signed for three years, $22.5 million. Adding Nelson worked well for them late in the year and he was eager to stay in Denver. The Avalanche made some changes to help loosen their cap constraints by sending Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Colorado for prospect Gavin Brindley and a pair of draft picks. That added flexibility let them sign Brent Burns on a one-year, $1 million deal, re-signed Josh Manson for two years, $7.9 million and Joel Kirivanta for one year, $1.25 million. They also added scoring winger Victor Olofsson from Vegas as a free agent for one year, $1.57 million. All of those players are specialists at what they do and with their key players already set, this is how a team with eyes on the Stanley Cup handles the roster.

What Would Success Look Like?

It was three years ago that the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and they’ve had their gaze set on winning it again ever since. Instead, they’ve lost in the first round twice and the second round once and that’s what must change. After bowing out to Dallas this year, it brought about questions as to whether they needed to change coach Jared Bednar. These are like first-world problems for contending teams, but with the overall talent level the Avalanche has with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Landeskog, Devon Toews and Martin Necas, they can win the Stanley Cup. The key to doing that will be winning the Central Division, however, and staying out of a potential first-round battle with Winnipeg, Dallas, St. Louis or Utah within the division.

What Could Go Wrong?

Any kind of extended losing streak or slump can lead to not winning the Central Division and having to slug it out in the first-round again. We’ve seen the Western Conference Playoffs sap the energy out of teams in the Central Division in each of the past three seasons, particularly in Dallas. Having to slog it out in long series to even get to the Western Conference Final is debilitating. The Avalanche’s depth up front took a hit this offseason when they traded Coyle and Wood and injuries could cause issues, especially if it means having to play the top players even more. If those guys have to empty the tank to just get to the playoffs, it’ll make life a lot harder once they do and make the dreams of winning the Cup again that much harder.

Top Breakout Candidate

The Avalanche are very much a veteran team but if there’s a young player who will have an opportunity to seize a role it’s forward Ivan Ivan. In 40 games with the Avalanche last season, Ivan had five goals and three assists while averaging 10:02 of ice time. That’s extreme fourth line deployment, but given the limited work, that’s decent offensive output. He wasn’t a big scorer in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles (43 points in 103 games), but at 23 years old, he’s someone who could be effective on the forecheck and frustrating opponents by getting on them as they try to carry up ice.

FORWARDS

Nathan MacKinnon

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	36	78	114	1.44

The beat goes on for Nathan Mackinnon as he recorded his third 110+ point season in a row, which was unbelievably a 24-point drop from what he posted the previous season. The main culprit was MacKinnon not finding the back of the net at the same frequency he did the past two seasons. Shooting percentage is usually the reason for this, but MacKinnon is typically a low-percentage shooter relatively to most elite players. What changed was the rate he shot the puck, seeing his shot rate go from 13.7 per game to 10. He is probably the only player in the league where 10 shots per game is a career low, but MacKinnon notoriously sets the bar high for himself. He’s also the only player who can have a “down” season and still be among the league’s best, as he was last year but the shot volume numbers he posted from 2021-24 are almost impossible to sustain. He also gained another high-volume shooter to work with in Martin Necas, so he had to spread the wealth a little more rather than take every shot, which clearly wasn’t a bad thing because he led the league in assists. The race for the best forward in the league is always neck-and-neck between him and McDavid. Both dominate the game in their own ways and MacKinnon does it through pure explosive speed, last year was the first time he took over games through playmaking rather than hitting you with a barrage of shots from all angles. Always raising the bar for himself, MacKinnon doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Martin Necas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	37	45	82	1.05

The midseason trade of Mikko Rantanen sparked some new life into the Avs offence with Martin Necas giving them another explosive player to pair with MacKinnon. They were one of the most exciting lines in the league when they played together. He gave them a different look than Rantanen, playing quicker and less deliberate in the offensive zone. Rantanen being the type who would look for open space and pick his spots while Necas would try to be MacKinnon 2.0 with cycling the puck high and taking shots from every angle. Colorado was the perfect landing spot for Necas after his torrid start with the Hurricanes, as the Avs were willing to give him the 20-21 minutes a night and top line deployment he wanted in Carolina. While he was exciting to watch with the Avs, Necas ended his Colorado tenure just under a point-per-game, which is where he has been for most of his career. He’s the type of player who can win games on his own for you when he’s hot, and cost you games when he goes cold, as he likes to have the puck on his stick all the time. It’s electrifying when he’s on a hot streak and a problem when he’s in a cold spell because he will try to win the game in one shift. Carolina opted to move on from him despite putting up career numbers and the Avs have one year to decide if Necas is a player they want for the long haul. His talent is undeniable.

Brock Nelson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	24	29	53	0.67

The Avs arduous quest for replacing Nazem Kadri took another turn when they moved on from Casey Mittelstadt in favor of longtime Islander Brock Nelson. He was the reliable second line pivot on Long Island for almost his entire career and was a model of consistency with nine season of scoring 20 or more goals. He’s a jack-of-all-trades player who can play on both special teams' units, but his knack for goal-scoring is what has kept him high in the lineup. Not just from going to the net, but from having the combination of patience and composure whenever he needs to make an extra move or two to score. Both off the rush and when he’s stationed in front of the net. His game is very direct and straight-forward when he gets to lead the rush, as he’ll usually take it to the net and try to deke the goalie out of his pads rather than look for the pass. Nelson has always had a unique combination of grit and skill for that reason because he will take hits to make plays by driving the net, but he can make those two or three slick moves to make the goaltender cheat. His all-around game is usually solid, although he took a step back defensively on a chaotic Isles team. Typically, one of their more trusted players on the second line, Nelson never handled the brunt of the defensive responsibilities reserved for the likes of Pageau and Cizikas, so he’s stepping into a similar role in Colorado with them needing a consistent scoring center on their second line in the worst way. If Nelson can stay 80% of the player he was on Long Island, Colorado will get what they want, but at 33 years old with a lot of miles logged, his best years are probably behind him.

Arturri Lehkonen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
73	24	23	47	0.64

Lehkonen was asked to try and fill the Landeskog role when the Avs captain started his long IR stint. Stapled to MacKinnon for most of his Colorado tenure, Lehkonen knows the ins and outs of how to produce in the Avs system, scoring a career high 27 goals last year with the majority of them coming at even strength. The addition of Necas gave Lehkonen a new wrinkle to prepare for, with a high-volume shooter added to the mix as opposed to Rantanen, who would rotate with him in front of the net. This forced Lehkonen to deal with more coverage in the net-front role, teams double teaming him, and he had to work extra hard to find loose pucks. Lehkonen also had to be more versatile in his own game, looking for an extra pass instead of jamming for rebounds. Filling the gaps of what your linemates aren’t doing is what being the third wheel on a line is all about, but you also have to be skilled enough to not get stuck playing one way. Lehkonen’s done an excellent job of that. He has better hands and is a quicker skater than most forwards who get stuck in the net-front spot, so it makes him a tougher player to defend, as he can catch you off-guard with some of the plays he makes. Combine that with how good he is on the penalty kill and it's hard to ask for a better complementary forward.

Val Nichushkin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
61	29	18	47	0.77

Nichushkin played only half of the season, missing the first month serving a suspension for violating the NHLPA Player Assistance Program and suffering an injury at the end of December. He was an integral part of the team’s Stanley Cup run years ago, and his last few seasons have been some of the most productive of his career, but the problem being he has yet to play a full season since arriving in Colorado all the way back in 2020. Injuries have been the story of Nichushkin’s career, dating back to his second year when he had hip surgery and it’s been something he’s had to deal with ever since. When healthy, he’s the ideal Colorado forward. A quick, powerful skater who will go to the net and has the hands to make the finishing plays on breakaways. Always one of the best players on the team at producing scoring chances, Nichushkin’s size, skill and nose for the net makes him a versatile guy in the Avs lineup. He can play on the top line with MacKinnon, but he can also drive his own line, regularly logging the 20-22 minutes a night with the Avs other star players. Staying in the lineup is the key for him.

Gabriel Landeskog

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	18	35	53	0.82

Landeskog made an emotional return to the Colorado lineup in the playoffs after three years on the shelf with a lingering knee injury that required several surgeries. The Avs weren’t sure when they would see their captain suit up for them again, so seeing him take the ice in Game 3 against Dallas was major lift to the organization. As fate has it, he scored in his second game back in the lineup on home ice and ended the playoffs with four points in five games. The last time we saw Landeskog play a full-season, he was scoring at over a point-per-game pace, which was a regular theme with him in his late 20’s. How he performs after three years out of the game is anyone’s guess. His longtime linemate in Mikko Rantanen is gone but he has mastered the art of playing in the Avalanche system and what you need to do to complement their stars. Landeskog’s specialty for years has being going to the net and scoring a high number of goals from having the puck bounce off him. Landeskog became less of a puck-carrier and someone who drives the bus in the neutral zone as MacKinnon’s game started to enter another stratosphere, so he’s had to pick up the intricacies of playing away from the puck. Always being around MacKinnon when he needs support and in front of the net when the Avs do their three-man high cycle in the zone. It’s just a matter of how quickly Landeskog can get back to full speed after so much time off.

Ross Colton

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	17	21	38	0.47

A top-heavy team all season, the Avs felt the loss of Ross Colton when he was out of the lineup for two months with a broken foot. They didn’t have him for the playoffs either after an injury took him out of Game 1 against Dallas. He might be just a depth guy, but he was one of the few sources of secondary scoring they had early in the season when he was healthy. He made a name for himself with the Lightning as a tenacious, bottom-six player who can provide some jolt to your offence. He loves shooting the puck and is savvy with getting himself open for good chances. He’s skilled enough to carry his own line, his love for carrying the puck making him a good fit for the Avs system where transition play dominates. Not a physical player in the sense of delivering big hits, but he doesn’t mind taking hits to make plays, always battling his way to the front of the net and fighting for positioning to get loose pucks. A depth player you take for granted until he’s not there anymore, as was the case for Colorado early in the season, because he can still tilt the ice for your team even when he’s not scoring. This season could tell a lot about him with Brock Nelson taking the 2C spot and Jack Drury possibly bringing more upside to the table as a 3C, pushing Colton to the wing or in a more defensive oriented role.

Jack Drury

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	9	18	27	0.34

While he was the less exciting part of the Necas-Rantanen trade, the Avs value Jack Drury’s contributions as a defensive player. Right off the bat, they used him on the penalty kill and relatively high in the lineup until the midseason trades for Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle. Drury is never a drag when he’s on the ice, he sees the game well and is always in the right spot to make the next play, excelling at making one-touch passes for skilled linemates and playing the high forward to keep long possessions going. He doesn’t have the finishing touch or skill to be a regular in the top six, not handling the puck well when he makes a play under pressure and an easy shooter to read even when he gets space. Colorado did make great use of Drury as one of the guys they play with a lead, moving him up in the lineup when they needed to kill the clock. Sometimes you need players who thrive in the doldrums of the game to make sure nothing happens while they’re on the ice. It’s hard to find players better than Drury for that. Colorado tried to untap some of his skill while he played higher in the lineup, but with Nelson re-signed, Drury will be properly slotted on the third line.

Logan O'Connor

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
64	12	12	24	0.38

Sometimes it’s easy to mistake O’Connor for MacKinnon when you’re watching the Avs. You see the 25 and think it’s 29 because he’s skating like lightning just as MacKinnon would do. The similarities stop there as O’Connor doesn’t have close to the same skillset, but he doesn’t have to in his role as a penalty kill workhorse. One of the more heralded defensive forwards in the NHL, O’Connor uses his speed to defend better than anyone, being an annoying presence on the forecheck and while defending. He is constantly in the face of players trying to cycle the puck and has a knack for turning turnovers into breakaways. Whether he scores on them or not is usually a secondary concern for the Avs. Although his offence has started to come around a little the last two years with back-to-back 10+ goal seasons. Anything more than that will be gravy. How effective he will be after off-season hip surgery, however, is one thing the Avs must be concerned with considering that speed and acceleration are big parts of his game. His return to the lineup is slated for November at the latest.

DEFENCE

Cale Makar

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	30	64	94	1.16

The most explosive, dynamic defenceman in the league, Makar took home his second Norris after being in a close race with Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes all season. He is the gold standard for the modern NHL defenceman, putting up unprecedented offensive numbers his entire career. Makar always looks like he’s playing a different game than everyone else, quickly getting from one side of the rink to the other to keep pucks in or break the defense down. It’s easy to take it for granted when you see it every night because Makar makes a lot of difficult things look routine. Not just walking the blue line but moving laterally or backwards in the offensive zone while controlling the puck on a string to keep the cycle going and while dropping a short pass to a forward that’s skating downhill at full speed. It’s things like that which make the Avs offence deadly. Having the elite forwards also helps, but Makar has the confidence to play like this even behind the Avs fourth line. There are some defencemen who can skate like Makar and there are a few who can handle the puck like him, but there aren’t any who can do both at the same time, which is what makes him a special player. This isn’t even getting into how he can score from distance, having pinpoint accuracy on shots from 50 feet away, which also makes him different from other high-scoring defencemen that rely on creeping in from the point or using the booming slapshot. Makar is truly one of a kind.

Devon Toews

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	8	35	43	0.57

Adding Devon Toews back in 2021 was the key to unlocking Makar’s potential. Not just as a player to be his safety valve, but a partner who can skate with him and not get overwhelmed with Makar starts to dance and take risks in the offensive zone. Toews’ skating is heralded as his best asset, as he loves playing the free safety role in the offensive zone with intercepting clearing attempts. His passing is right behind that, and it makes him a critical part of how the Avs like to attack through the neutral zone. Since Toews can’t keep every puck in the zone, what he likes to do instead is allow the puck to get over the blue line, wait for everyone to tag up and zip a pass to a teammate streaking into the zone. This reload method is an integral part of the Avs offence and Toews is part of what makes it go. He’s not the special talent Makar is, but he’s a complete defenceman who can do everything. He defends with his legs and by keeping the play in front of him better than anyone and excels at shutting off plays at his own blue line. Offensively, he complements Makar nicely as someone who can read off him and is very dangerous when he can creep in from the point and get his wrister on net. There’s always a lot of focus on what Makar is doing in the offensive zone, so Toews can creep in unnoticed and score some sneaky goals this way. Point production is never the concern with Toews, as he is Colorado’s defensive MVP.

Brent Burns

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	9	27	36	0.44

Last year was the first time Burns didn’t hit 30 points in a full season since 2012, his first year in San Jose. Father time has caught up to the now 40-year-old as the explosivity to his game isn’t there anymore and he saw his role shift in Carolina to more of a shutdown role to fill the absence of Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. In the grand scheme, he did fine. He can still do a lot of the disruptive work in the defensive zone when defending the cycle, always getting a stick on a play and moving the puck out of harm's way. Defending one-on-one is where he struggled and it was more of a problem last season with him playing the tough matchups. He still plays very high in the zone to challenge attacking forwards and he either gets them or misses and gives up a Grade A chance the other way. He can still skate smoothly, but doesn’t accelerate well, so he ended up on the wrong end of some highlights from getting beat to the inside often. Nothing much has changed about how he plays offensively, if he gets the puck it’s going to the net. He saw less of a reward for it offensively last season, but it’s something that should intrigue Colorado fans with how many forwards they have who are skilled at tipping pucks. Burns can still play at a high level at his age, so it’s all a matter of when his age starts to catch up with him. He might avoid hitting the wall longer than most with how much of a physical specimen he is, but it’s something that comes for every player eventually.

Samuel Girard

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
71	2	18	20	0.28

Now, one of Colorado’s longest-tenured players, it doesn’t feel like that long ago when Girard burst onto the scene in his rookie season. He was a nimble, exciting puck-moving defenceman that had a lot of poise and confidence we didn’t typically see from smaller blueliners in the NHL. Once Makar arrived, Girard was old news and became a mainstay on the Avs second pair, a role that he’s had on lockdown for the past five years. It’s not abnormal for a smaller defenceman to play as much as Girard does in a shutdown role, but he is on the extreme end of the height spectrum, so he’s slotted in a unique way for a player of his stature. It’s easy for him to get lost in the shuffle watching Colorado because of Toews and Makar, but Girard’s puck-moving is as good as it was in his rookie year. He’s improved by playing a safer game, trusting his partners to make the next play more and not trying to do everything himself. He complements the forwards nicely in the offensive zone but doesn’t get the same level of opportunities playing behind the second and third lines. Defending the rush is his one sore spot and opposing teams tend to go after him more because of his size, doubly when he’s paired with Josh Manson instead of Sam Malinski. Girard likes to defend with his body and isn’t the best with timing the hip checks or anticipating where the play is going if he has multiple reads with the puck. It’s something that Colorado’s always had to work around with him, but he’s still a solid 3rd or 4th option on the Avs blue line.

Goal

Mackenzie Blackwood

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
57	33	15	4	5	0.909	2.50

Very few teams will enter the upcoming season having completely scrapped their goaltending tandem and starting from scratch. One of those, though, is the Colorado Avalanche, who bounced both Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev following tough performances and brought in new names to hopefully take the reins for the time being. Perhaps the most exciting name in the depth chart now is Mackenzie Blackwood, who may have finally found his home in Colorado following an up-and-down career in New Jersey and a brief stint helping the San Jose Sharks with their rebuild. He arrived in Colorado last season and immediately made an impact, finishing the year with one of his best statistical performances since going pro in 2017. He's a good fit on paper, too, with both the big physical presence the Avalanche tend to prefer in net and a strong positional game that makes it hard for shooters to pull him out of position. He seemed to regain some of his rhythm during his time with San Jose after looking like he'd lost his timing in New Jersey, and he was arguably the biggest factor in Colorado going from a team that might need to retool to a team that looked ready to push for the playoffs once more.

He'll be accompanied by Scott Wedgewood for the time being, making for a fun Devils reunion in net that should keep Colorado's netminding consistent and easy to work with for the defence in front. But don't be surprised if Trent Miner gets a look or two this year, particularly if either Wedgewood or Blackwood end up needing to spend time on IR.

NHL: DADOUN – TRADE DEADLINE ROUND UP – What we can expect from some of the bigger players now?

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:58:23 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 27: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders on February 27, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Friday’s trade deadline has to stand out as one of the best in recent memory. Over the last week, 45 trades occurred with almost $170 million worth of cap hit changing hands, per PuckPedia. More than just the quantity, though, was the quality.

Brock Nelson, a man who has breached the 30-goal milestone in each of the previous three campaigns was added by Colorado, while Seth Jones, a top four defenseman signed through 2029-30, was acquired by Florida in the leadup to deadline day, and yet neither of them ended up being the headline additions of this trade season. Jones didn’t even end up being the biggest name to join the Panthers.

Instead, Florida shocked the hockey world with its last-minute addition of Brad Marchand. Granted, Marchand is 36, in the final season of his contract and dealing with an upper-body injury, so there are some big caveats to consider when assessing his impact, but still, it’s Brad Marchand. There aren’t many active players out there who are so heavily linked to the team they play for than he is. To see him with the Panthers will be weird, to say the least.

Of course, he might just be a rental, so we’ll see what happens this summer. One star player who opted not to go to free agency, though, is Mikko Rantanen. The Hurricanes were clearly hoping to lock him up long term -- it's fair to say they wouldn’t have acquired him from Colorado if they didn’t think they had a shot -- but in the end, terms weren’t agreed upon, so Carolina cut its losses by sending Rantanen to Dallas, which promptly signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

It's a huge payout, but a justified one with the cap going up. Rantanen recorded over 40 goals and 100 points in each of the previous two seasons and has 27 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances this campaign. Dallas has now set itself up to enjoy a duo of Rantanen and Jason Robertson for years to come, which should make the Stars one of hockey’s best teams in the medium term.

That’s just scratching the surface of what happened today, so let’s start digging deeper. Typically, I highlight teams based on what their upcoming schedule is like with a bias towards teams that will be playing a lot or facing favorable opponents in the week to come. This week, I’ll be highlighting the squads I feel had the most interesting trade deadline -- including the days leading up to it -- so that I can discuss what’s changed and how this might impact various players for the remainder of the campaign.

Boston Bruins

It’s not overly dramatic to suggest that trading Marchand to Florida marked the end of an era for the Bruins. Sure, they still have David Pastrnak, but if you look back at the 2018 Bruins who made it to the Stanley Cup Final, Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are the only ones remaining.

No more Marchand. No more Patrice Bergeron. No more David Krejci. Torey Krug is gone. So are Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask. Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle were members of the Bruins’ 2018-19 squad, but they were traded to Toronto and Colorado, respectively, on Friday.

Of course, the Bruins of old have been fading away for a while. Boston was able to maneuver with a series of trades and signings to extend their dominance for a long time, but if you look at the Bruins’ recent drafting history, you can see why this decline happened. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman, despite his struggles this campaign (18-21-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .896 save percentage in 45 appearances) has proven to be a steal for a fourth-round pick, but he was taken back in 2017. From 2018 to the present, no Bruins draft pick has logged 150 or more games, and the only players over the past four drafts to even make it to the NHL among Boston’s picks are Matthew Poitras and Fabian Lysell -- the latter of which has played in just one game.

Of course, part of that was the Bruins suffering from success, which led to late draft picks, but it is nevertheless at the heart of why Boston couldn’t replenish fast enough as its old guard left.

Still, the Bruins’ moves suggest they’re looking to retool rather than rebuild. While Boston did stock up on draft picks, including a conditional first-round pick from Toronto and a conditional second rounder from Florida, the Bruins also picked up Fraser Minten, who is a 20-year-old prospect who might factor into Boston’s roster on a regular basis next year, and Casey Mittelstadt, who is in the first season of a three-year, $17.25 million contract and is a solid option up the middle.

Boston also has to keep in mind that it’ll get Hampus Lindholm (kneecap) back next season after the top four blueliner was limited to just 17 appearances in 2024-25, and there’s also the likelihood that Swayman will do better next campaign. In other words, Boston fans might not have to go long between playoff appearances.

In the meantime, though, Cole Koepke and Mark Kastelic might get top six minutes, even though neither is particularly suited for the role. We also might see them get ice time on the second power-play unit, and Nikita Zadorov could feature there as well. Boston still has one strong line in Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, but the team’s offense overall figures to be dreary, and as a result, Boston might slip even further than its current 28th rank in goals per game (2.69).

Carolina Hurricanes

Losing Rantanen hurts, especially after Carolina gave up a package that included Martin Necas to pry him from Colorado. At least the return from Dallas was strong: The Hurricanes got Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round selections. It’ll be years before we know how good or bad those draft picks are for the Hurricanes, but Stankoven is an interesting piece to get in the meantime.

The 22-year-old is playing in his sophomore campaign and had 29 points (nine goals) in 59 appearances with Dallas before the trade. He didn’t have consistent linemates, which might have made the task of adapting to the NHL a little more challenging. Stankoven did show a ton of potential in the minors, though, supplying 24 goals and 57 points in 47 outings with AHL Texas in 2023-24.

Stankoven figures to get a top six role with Carolina as well as power-play time. The tricky thing is that the Hurricanes don’t have any high-end forwards outside of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, who might end up spending a fair amount of time together on the top line. When Carolina opts to take that path, that would leave Stankoven on a rather barren second unit. It’s a similar situation to the one Taylor Hall finds himself in. Since joining the Hurricanes from Chicago, Hall has just a goal and three points in 13 outings while averaging 14:32 of ice time. Part of that’s because the 33-year-old Hall has declined in recent years, but he’s also finding himself alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake, neither of whom have reached the 15-goal or 30-point marks this season.

With that in mind, Stankoven might not be much of an offensive force for the remainder of the season.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado has been extremely busy on the trade front all year -- in addition to the Rantanen trade back in January that got the Avalanche Necas, Colorado also has an entirely different goaltending duo than the one it began the campaign with -- and the Avalanche didn’t slow down as the trade deadline approached.

Colorado added Brock Nelson from the Islanders, Coyle from the Bruins and Erik Johnson from Philadelphia this week. It did cost the Avalanche -- in addition to draft picks and prospects, Colorado also parted ways with Mittelstadt – but Colorado looks like a major Cup contender.

Nelson and Coyle make the Avalanche extremely talented up the middle. We’ll probably see Nelson assume the second-line center spot. Although that would keep him out of the enviable position of skating alongside Nathan MacKinnon or Necas, Nelson would still have plenty to work with alongside Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nelson largely maintained his scoring pace in Colorado after contributing 20 goals and 43 points across 61 appearances with the Islanders in 2024-25 before the trade.

That would leave Coyle on the third line. He’d see a meaningful decline in his workload compared to his average of 17:38 of ice time, including 1:55 with the man advantage, with Boston this season, but he kind of deserves that dip after collecting just 15 goals and 22 points in 64 outings. He did exceed the 40-point mark in three consecutive seasons from 2021-22 through 2023-24, so having him on the third line is a nice luxury to have, but he’s unlikely to challenge Nelson for the top-six spot, and it’s also not a given that Coyle will get regular time on the power play.

Jack Drury will probably center the fourth line. He doesn’t bring much offensively to the table anyway (seven goals, 13 points in 53 outings this season), but he is effective on the draw (57.1 conversion rate) and helps kill penalties, so Drury still has a clear role. The biggest loser in this will probably be Parker Kelly, who might spend a fair amount of time in the press box after dressing in the Avalanche’s first 63 games.

Speaking of the press box, I don’t expect Johnson to play much. It’s nice to see him back in Colorado, but unlike his first stint with the team, there isn’t really a clear role for him. Maybe if the Avalanche are forced to deal with injuries, the 36-year-old will get some work, but that’s about it.

Dallas Stars

Dallas made only one trade this month, but it was a huge one. As already noted above, the Stars acquired Rantanen in exchange for picks and Logan Stankoven. Dallas also signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.

Rantanen didn’t look great in Carolina, recording just two goals and six points in 13 appearances, but he still has 70 points (27 goals) in 62 outings this campaign, and his resume is fantastic. He should do great in Dallas, likely on the first line alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

Hintz and Robertson have typically played together this campaign, but the third member of that trio hasn’t been consistent. Wyatt Johnston has gotten a fair amount of work in that role, though, and that’s likely at an end. Johnston might not be on the second unit either given that Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund have done well together. Instead, Johnston might primarily center the third unit. That’s an odd position for a player with 23 goals and 59 points in 62 outings, but Dallas isn’t a typical team, and that would still leave him to play with Jamie Benn, who remains a solid contributor at the age of 35 (15 goals, 39 points).

Johnston may see a bit of a decline in his production down the stretch, but Dallas should remain happy given that it will be rolling out three very effective lines. The Stars’ embarrassment of offensive riches will get even better if Tyler Seguin (hip) is available for the playoffs. He was fantastic early in the campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 19 appearances. Maybe he’ll end up alongside Benn and Johnston.

Florida Panthers

The Marchand trade was jaw-dropping, especially given that the price was just a conditional second-round pick, which will turn into a first-round selection only if Florida wins at least two rounds and Marchand participates in a minimum of 50 percent of those playoff games. The latter condition speaks to Marchand’s health -- before the trade, he missed Boston’s past three games. Florida GM Bill Zito thinks Marchand will be out for a couple more weeks, but he also added that the team doctors will look at him, per Florida Hockey Now, so we’ll see.

Presuming that Marchand returns before the end of the regular season, it will be very interesting to see how he fits into the lineup. Will he play alongside another talented troublemaker in Sam Bennett? They did see some work together on Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Matthew Tkachuk (groin) is done for the remainder of the regular season, but should he return for the playoffs, he might join that duo to form a line that no one would want to play against.

Perhaps Florida will attempt to balance out the grit by separating the trio of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Maybe we’ll have something like Bennett-Verhaeghe-Tkachuk and then Marchand-Barkov-Reinhart. Whatever they decide to do, that will be a strong top six. While Tkachuk and Marchand are out, Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues will see increased roles, but that duo is likely to serve strictly in the bottom six when everyone is healthy. Samoskevich in particular might see a drop in usage once Marchand is back, but for now, he’s enjoying the extra work -- Samoskevich has three goals and four points across his past six appearances while averaging 15:30 compared to eight goals and 17 points in his first 48 outings with an average of 11:41.

On the back end, Jones logged 20:40 of ice time over his first two appearances with the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad seems to have maintained his spot on the top power-play unit and has cashed in with a power-play assist in each of his past two outings. If Jones’ role with the man advantage has been diminished by the move to Florida from Chicago -- and that seems to be the case -- then his fantasy value will take a significant hit. Of his 27 points in 2024-25, 15 have been recorded on the power play.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay loves first-round picks, and sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go. The Lightning have drafted in the first round just once dating back to 2020 -- Isaac Howard (31st overall) in 2022 -- and it seems they’ll be waiting a while before doing so again. The Lightning gave their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to Seattle in a three-team trade that brought Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa Bay. The Lightning were already missing their 2025 first-round pick as part of the Tanner Jeannot trade back in 2023.

While that’s a significant cost, the Lightning are looking like a well-rounded team going into the playoffs. Obviously, they already had the trio of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov as their headline unit -- Guentzel has two hat tricks this season and still might be the worst player on that line, which is wild -- and that’s complemented by a strong second line in Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul.

Now Bjorkstrand and Gourde can man the third line, perhaps alongside 24-year-old rookie Gage Goncalves. Bjorkstrand has 17 goals and 38 points in 62 outings while Gourde has done worse this season (six goals, 18 points in 37 appearances) but has recorded over 30 points in each of his previous seven seasons. That doesn’t give the Lightning the same level of forward depth that Dallas is rocking, but that’s still really good.

These moves also probably cost Mitchell Chaffee his spot on the power play. That’s not a huge deal, but four of his 12 goals in 2024-25 have been scored with the man advantage.

Toronto Maple Leafs

There was an arms race in the Atlantic Division. Florida and Tampa Bay both made significant additions leading up to the deadline, and Toronto made some maneuvers too. The Maple Leafs acquired Brandon Carlo from Boston and Scott Laughton from Philadelphia, though in the process, Toronto surrendered, among other things, two first-round picks as well as prospects Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten.

At a glance, those sacrifices would suggest Toronto is going all in, and while it’s undeniable that the farm system has taken a hit, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Carlo is signed through 2026-27 and Laughton is under contract through 2025-26, so these aren’t just rentals.

In terms of what they bring to the table, it’s nothing headline-grabbing, but it is important. Laughton is a solid third-line center, which will allow Max Domi to shift to the wing. His presence might also push Nicholas Robertson out of the top nine, though Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann might also occasionally shift down in the depth charts, especially when Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) is able to return.

Carlo might end up being a good shutdown partner for the offensive-minded Morgan Rielly. He might even enable Rielly to take more chances and bolster his scoring pace down the stretch. The 30-year-old Rielly has seven goals and 32 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25, which is down from 58 points in 72 outings last year.

Philippe Myers, who has gotten some looks alongside Rielly lately, probably won’t be a consideration for that role going forward. Instead, Myers will probably shift to the third pairing, and once Chris Tanev (upper body) is back, Myers might find himself competing with Simon Benoit to stay in the lineup.

Toronto’s xGA/60 in 2024-25 has been 3.19, which ranks 23rd in the league. That suggests the Maple Leafs have made life somewhat hard on their goaltenders this season with their defensive play. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have mostly been able to make up the difference, but their work should be easier after Toronto’s recent moves.

Vegas Golden Knights

It’s weird for Vegas not to be the one making a blockbuster trade. In fact, the Golden Knights didn’t make any move Friday, but they did pick up Reilly Smith from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick.

It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a nice bit of business. Although Smith has underwhelmed this campaign with 10 goals and 29 points in 58 appearances in 2024-25, he had some amazing campaigns with Vegas. In particular, Smith provided 26 goals and 56 points in 78 regular-season games in 2022-23 and went on to supply another four goals and 14 points across 24 playoff outings to help Vegas win the Cup in 2023.

This change of scenery might be what Smith needs to rebound. He’s not too old at 33, so he still should have something left in the tank. However, the Golden Knights are a deep team. Even with William Karlsson (lower body) and Victor Olofsson (lower body) out, Smith might still find himself in a bottom-six role, and when everyone is healthy, it’s inevitable that Vegas will have to make a healthy scratch out of someone who would play regularly on most teams. Perhaps that will be Brandon Saad on occasion, but Nicolas Roy and Smith are also on that bubble.

For that reason, I recommend tempering your expectations when it comes to Smith’s reunion tour.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Avalanche and Hurricanes make blockbuster deal, Flames and Flyers swing four-player swap, the Islanders renovate their blueline, McTavish, Smith, and Slafkovsky are some young forwards picking up steam and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 13:30:21 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing Mikko Rantanen (96) in action prior to the National Hockey League game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers on January 28, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Avalanche and Hurricanes made a blockbuster deal, the Flames and Flyers swing a four-player swap, the Islanders renovate their blueline, and Mason McTavish, Will Smith, and Juraj Slafkovsky are some young forwards picking up steam and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche made a massive trade last week, a rare in-season move involving star players. The Hurricanes landed Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche and Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks in the three-team deal. Rantanen is one of the league’s premier forwards and since the 2020-2021 season, he has averaged 1.27 points per game, ranking seventh in the league. In his first three games with Carolina, Rantanen has a goal and an assist, but also has 13 shots on goal despite seeing his average time on ice drop to 19:06 per game after averaging 22:30 per game in Colorado. Hall’s ice time was reduced in Chicago this season but his 1.88 points per 60 minutes ranked second on the Blackhawks among forwards to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes (behind Ryan Donato). So, while Rantanen might play less after joining a team with Carolina’s depth of talent, Hall might actually find his way to more ice time with the Hurricanes.

#2 Colorado acquired right winger Martin Necas and centre Jack Drury from Carolina. Necas had 55 points in 49 games with Carolina before getting traded and he has put up four assists in three games. The Avalanche have also taken to giving Necas the same kind of role that Rantanen held, so Necas has averaged 23:08 of ice time per game in his first three games for the Avs after playing 18:05 per game in Carolina. Drury is more of a depth option, though he has scored two goals in his first three games for Colorado.

#3 The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers are both in the hunt for playoff spots and the teams swapped players Thursday. Calgary acquired winger Joel Farabee and centre Morgan Frost, sending wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, along with a couple of draft picks, to Philadelphia. Farabee is a solid complementary winger who scored a career-high 50 points (22 G, 28 A) last season, but has just 19 points (8 G, 11 A) through 50 games this season. He could use the fresh start. Frost has had a bit of a tumultuous run in Philadelphia, especially with John Tortorella as head coach. Frost is a talented player but had one assist and seven shots on goal in his last seven games with the Flyers.

#4 Kuzmenko is a 28-year-old winger who tallied 39 goals and 74 points for Vancouver in 2022-2023, his first season in the NHL, but he has just four goals and 15 points in 37 games this season. He did cross paths with Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov back in the KHL, as Kuzmenko was the leading scorer for SKA St. Petersburg in 2022-2023 when Michkov was just getting his feet wet with that team in the KHL. Perhaps Kuzmenko can help shake Michkov from the slump that has seen him produce just seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past 24 games. Pelletier was a first-round pick in 2019, but it has taken a while for him to show that he belongs in the NHL. He did have six points (3 G, 3 A) in his last nine games for the Flames and the small skilled winger can hope to secure more consistent playing time in Philadelphia.

#5 Injuries have forced the New York Islanders to address their blueline and they have signed Tony DeAngelo, who was playing in the KHL, and acquired Scott Perunovich in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. DeAngelo had 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 34 games for St. Petersburg in the KHL but still fell out of favor. He has one assist in three games for the Islanders but has averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time per game and is quarterbacking the Islanders top power play unit. Perunovich has recorded an assist in both of his first two games for the Islanders.

#6 Anahiem Ducks centre Mason McTavish started relatively slowly this season, with 19 points (6 G, 13 A) through 40 games. He does have seven points (6 G, 1 A) and 14 shots on goal in his past five games, however, so it’s worth keeping tabs on the 22-year-old. He is skating with Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri at even strength, but McTavish is also getting first-unit power play time.

#7 San Jose Sharks rookie Will Smith has taken some time to find his groove during his first NHL campaign, but it looks like the fourth pick in the 2023 Draft is getting comfortable. He is riding a six-game point streak, during which he has amassed seven points (2 G, 5 A) and is skating on a line with veteran Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund. Granlund has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past six games, and with 46 points on the season, he looks like a good bet to hit the 60-point plateau for the fifth time in his career.

#8 There have been some uneven moments in the development path for Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky, the first pick in the 2022 Draft. Despite enjoying great success with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield last season, Slafkovsky has been moved down the depth chart at times this season and he scored four goals (plus 19 assists) in the first 40 games of the season. Since then, Slafkovsky has six points (4 G, 2 A) in eight games and looks a lot more like the power forward who finished last season with 35 points (16 G, 19 A) in his last 40 games.

#9 When the Nashville Predators struggled early in the season, there was concern that centre Tommy Novak wasn’t up to the task of providing much-needed secondary scoring, and he managed just nine points (5 G, 4 A) in his first 35 games. After that inauspicious start to the season, Novak has contributed seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past five games, and is having some success skating with rookies Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.

#10 Buffalo Sabres left winger JJ Peterka enjoyed a terrific start to the season and then went through a slump in late November and early December, but he has rebounded with 21 points (6 G, 15 A) in his past 20 games, highlighted by his three-goal, one-assist performance in Tuesday’s win over Buffalo. More recently, the Sabres have been running Peterka on a line with rookie Jiri Kulich at centre and Tage Thompson on right wing. Kulich has nine points (5 G, 4 A) in his past 12 games. Thompson, who is more widely rostered than his linemates, has 26 points (14 G, 12 A) in his past 26 games.

#11 Marco Kasper was the eighth pick in the 2022 Draft by the Detroit Red Wings and he was offering an unremarkable rookie season, with seven points (2 G, 5 A) in his first 35 games. Moving up the depth chart has done wonders for the young skilled winger, and he has put up 12 points (7 G, 5 A) and 24 shots on goal in his past 11 games. With Patrick Kane injured, Kasper is skating on the Red Wings’ top line, with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, as well as playing on Detroit’s first power play unit. Given their success, the trio might need to stay together even when Kane returns.

#12 The Toronto Maple Leafs do not get great production out of their defencemen, as Morgan Rielly is Toronto’s highest scoring blueliner with 22 points (3 G, 19 A) in 51 games. Just behind him, though, is veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has six points (1 G, 5 A) in his past five games, giving him 21 points for the season. Just as importantly, Ekman-Larsson is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game in that stretch. The Maple Leafs run five forwards on their top power play unit, with Rielly and Ekman-Larsson on the second unit.

#13 Chicago Blackhawks rookie Frank Nazar was the 13th pick in the 2022 Draft and was tearing up the AHL this season with 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 21 games and when the Blackhawks made a coaching change, they promoted Nazar shortly thereafter. While he did not have immediate success, there have been signs of progress. He has five points (2 G, 3 A) in his past eight games and is now skating on Connor Bedard’s wing on Chicago’s top line.

#14 Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann has been one their most productive players since the expansion draft, scoring 110 goals and 221 points to lead the franchise. While McCann has been more of a goal scorer as he has emerged as a legitimate offensive threat, he has turned playmaker lately. In his past 13 games, McCann has 12 points (1 G, 11 A) and 17 shots on goal. That low shot total needs to improve because while McCann is not usually a high-volume shooter, 1.3 shots on goal per game is not the stuff of consistent top line scorers.

#15 As the Carolina Hurricanes appear to have pushed their chips all in for this season, there is an opportunity for centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi to fulfill a supporting role. Carolina’s addition of Taylor Hall offers the possibility that Kotkaniemi could have more skill on his wings and Kotkaniemi has produced six points (4 G, 2 A) in his past six games. After scoring 27 points in 79 games last season, Kotkaniemi has already chipped in 25 points (10 G, 15 A) in 52 games this season, so he is developing, even if it might be at a slower pace than the ‘Canes might have initially hoped.

#16 Mammoth Washington Capitals winger Aliaksei Protas is enjoying a breakthrough season and is thriving with a six-game point streak, during which he has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 11 shots on goal. Protas has not been a huge shot generator, so he has been dependent on a shooting percentage of 23.3 percent to score 21 goals in 51 games. His 20 even-strength goals is tied for fifth in the league, behind only Leon Draisaitl (26), Mark Scheifele (22), William Nylander (22), and Tage Thompson (21).

#17 Los Angeles Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper has enjoyed some excellent seasons in his career but he had injury problems when he was with Washington last season, and it was hard to know whether he would be able to bounce back as a 34-year-old goaltender. Saskatoon native Kuemper has been excellent for the Kings, and since the calendar turned to 2025, he has a .938 save percentage in 10 games. Kuemper has 9.65 goals saved above expected this season, which ranks 10th in the NHL, a level of play that the Kings did not have much right to expect.

#18 The Washington Capitals started the season with a goaltending tandem of Charles Lindgren and Logan Thompson and that duo has helped the Capitals to the league’s best record. While there was an even split in the crease for a good portion of the season, Lindgren missed some time with injury, and it allowed Thompson to emerge as the No. 1 option between the pipes for Washington. In his past dozen starts, Thompson has a record of 11-0-1 while posting a .949 save percentage. He earned a six-year, $35.1 million contract extension, nice work for the former USports goaltender.

#19 Veteran Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson is getting a steady diet of starts in the Anaheim net, perhaps showcasing him for a potential trade. Lukas Dostal has played well, establishing himself as the Ducks’ goaltender of the future, and possibly the present, but in his past 11 appearances, Gibson has a .922 save percentage. That kind of performance should help to make Gibson more appealing to a playoff contender that is looking for an upgrade in goal and a move to a team that is more likely to win would certainly improve Gibson’s fantasy value.

#20 Dallas Stars standout defenceman Miro Heiskanen is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, suffered following an unusual hit from Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. Heiskanen will miss the 4 Nations Face-Off, and his absence from the Stars lineup will be every bit as challenging as it will be for Team Finland to be without the rock steady blueliner. With Heiskanen out, Thomas Harley should see more time on the power play. Only three of Harley’s 23 points this season have come via the man advantage.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Nashville Resurgence, Rantanen traded to Carolina, plus much more – Favourable schedules and players to target

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 15:16:30 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (81) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, held on January 16, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

The best stories in sports are the comebacks that happen after a team has been written off. Two examples that spring to mind from recent history are the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators, who were 22-23-10 after a loss Feb. 16, putting them 10 points behind in the playoff race, only to go 21-3-3 the rest of the way to narrowly secure a postseason berth. Another is the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues, who were 16-19-4 on Jan. 5, which placed them last in the Western Conference, before going 29-9-5 the rest of the way to not only make the playoffs but win the Stanley Cup.

Is it possible we’ll have another one of those stories this year? Those stories are memorable because they’re rare, and you only need to look at the absurd records they needed down the stretch to illustrate why. Due in no small part to the consolation point for overtime/shootout losses, the standings tend to look closer than they truly are because closing even a small point gap is difficult.

That said, I can’t help but look at the Nashville Predators and wonder if there is still some hope. It’s probably a foolish thing to think and a take that will age like milk, but after a 7-16-6 start, Nashville began to stabilize and now the team seems to have hit its stride with its current five-game winning streak. The Predators are still just 18-22-7, so they’d have basically have to go the rest of the season without any more noteworthy slumps, but part of the reason that such a feat even seems remotely possible is because the veteran leadership that seemed lost in the early part of the season has settled in.

Steven Stamkos has 10 goals and 19 points across his past 19 appearances while Jonathan Marchessault has 10 goals and 26 points over the same 19-game span. They were signed over the summer to provide that kind of offense but were initially written off as poor decisions by GM Barry Trotz due to their extremely poor start to the campaign. Now it seems they were judged too harshly.

When you couple their success with Filip Forsberg (18 goals, 47 points), elite defenseman Roman Josi (nine goals, 35 points) and veteran center Ryan O'Reilly (13 goals, 27 points), you have a fairly strong offense, especially if any of Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak or Luke Evangelista (lower body) start to hit their stride. As it is, Nashville has ranked second in goals per game (3.47) dating back to Dec. 10. That’s in stark contrast to the Predators’ first 28 games where they were last in the league in that scoring category (2.18).

You could call this just a hot streak for the offense, and there’s probably an element of that, but given that we’re talking about players of this caliber, it might be something at least somewhat sustainable.

It’s not all rosy, though. The X-Factor is surprisingly goaltending. Ottawa’s run involved journeyman goaltender Andrew Hammond standing on his head, and the Blues got a similar story out of rookie Jordan Binnington.

Nashville shouldn’t need someone to come out of nowhere to shut down the opposing offense. The Predators already have Juuse Saros, who not that long ago was seen as one of the best goaltenders of this generation. This campaign, though, he’s struggled with an 11-18-6 record, 2.81 GAA and .901 save percentage in 36 appearances. Unlike the offense, Saros hasn’t stepped up -- he's 2-2-0 with a 3.42 GAA and an .860 save percentage across his past five outings.

That’s led to Justus Annunen starting a bit more often lately, but while the backup netminder has won his past four starts, he’s been inconsistent, allowing 10 goals on 105 shots (.905 save percentage) over that span.

Let’s assume Nashville needs a 95-point season to make the playoffs. That wouldn’t have been good enough last year, but for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend that’s what’s needed. Nashville would need another 52 points across its final 35 games, so for example, 26-9-0, or say, 23-6-6. Even a top-tier offense is unlikely to get them that kind of record down the stretch. Some of that’s going to have to come from the goalies stealing games, so until Saros or Annunen start heating up, it’s hard to imagine the comeback happening.

That said, if Stamkos and Marchessault could find their way back from unflattering starts, perhaps Saros can too?

Calgary Flames (Tue vs WAS, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs DET, Sun @ SEA)

Calgary wasn’t seen as a major contender going into the campaign. In fact, there was an argument to be made that the Flames would regress from their 38-39-5 record last season after trading away goaltender Jacob Markstrom over the summer. However, we’re clear past the halfway point of 2024-25 now, and the Flames are very much in the playoff race. The weakness for the Flames is they’ve struggled on the road (8-10-4), but they won’t have to concern themselves with that in the upcoming week. They’ll host the Capitals, Ducks, Red Wings and Kraken on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

A big part of the reason why the Flames’ rebuild is ahead of schedule is 23-year-old goaltender Dustin Wolf. He got a taste of the NHL last year and was mixed at best, posting a 7-7-1 record, 3.16 GAA and .893 save percentage in 17 games. However, he’s filled the void left by Markstrom and then some in 2024-25 with his 17-7-2 record, 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage in 26 starts. To put that into context, Wolf has already saved 13.3 goals above expected this season, per Moneypuck, which has almost caught up to the 13.7 goals saved above expected Markstrom provided for the Flames last campaign. Wolf also ranks eighth among goaltenders in that metric this season.

Wolf’s contributions are extra important because the rest of the team has underwhelmed. Calgary ranks 29th in goals per game (2.65) and 21st in xGA/60 (3.09). So, the team’s not generating much offense and the defense hasn’t been responsible enough to make an average goaltender look good -- just ask backup Dan Vladar, who is only slightly below average at minus-2.8 goals saved above expected, but due to the Flames’ defense has some rather unflattering numbers: a 3.03 GAA and an .889 save percentage.

Still, even if Wolf is the team’s clear MVP, it would be inaccurate to suggest that he’s the only player of value in Calgary. Jonathan Huberdeau might not be living up to his contract, but his 19 goals and 35 points through 46 outings make him the team’s offensive leader. Since a quiet stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 29 in which Huberdeau had four goals and six points in 20 outings, the 31-year-old has been tremendous, supplying 12 goals and 23 points across 22 outings. If he can maintain anything close to that down the stretch, then there’s a decent chance he’ll be playing playoff hockey this year.

The 23-year-old Jakob Pelletier is also hot with three goals and six points across his past five appearances. It took him a while to get going -- he recorded a goal and five points over his first 15 games with Calgary this season -- but we’re getting a flash of what he’s capable of. He was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has been dominant offensively at the AHL level, including three goals and 19 points in 20 contests this season.

Maybe Rory Kerins will also help them down the stretch. He’s 23 as well and has provided an incredible 21 goals and 34 points in 34 AHL games in 2024-25. Unlike Pelletier, Kerins was a late-round pick and even logged 38 games with ECHL Rapid City back in 2022-23. Kerins has risen, making his NHL debut Jan. 13 and recording four assists in five outings with the Flames so far. That said, he’s averaging just 12:14 of ice time, including a mere 6:57 on Thursday, so his role with Calgary is far from secure despite those early results. Monitor him, but don’t get too excited yet.

Colorado Avalanche (Tue @ NYI, Fri vs STL, Sun vs PHI)

The Avalanche has a solid 28-19-2 record, but they’ve merely treaded water lately, going 5-4-1 across their past 10 games. They’ll see if they can do better next week with a favorable schedule. The Avalanche will visit the Islanders on Tuesday before returning home to host St. Louis on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. Those adversaries are well behind the Avalanche in terms of points percentage.

I wrote this whole thing about Colorado’s situation with regard to Mikko Rantanen’s contract, and then the Avalanche traded him to Carolina in a three-team deal that also involved Chicago, which was shocking, to say the least. To be fair, there is logic to be found here. My now outdated discussion of the topic still serves as a decent overview of the challenge the Avalanche were facing pre-trade, so I’ll show it here for that purpose:

“Like Edmonton with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Colorado also has the luxury of an elite one-two punch up front. The Avalanche version is headlined by Nathan MacKinnon, and the other half of the Avalanche’s duo is Mikko Rantanen, who has 25 goals and 64 points through 49 outings in 2024-25. Colorado has an issue that Edmonton recently went through, though: Rantanen is on the final season of his six-year, $55.5 million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Rantanen has a real shot of reaching the 40-goal and 100-point milestones for the third consecutive year, so to say he’s due a big payday would be an understatement.

Finding a comparable is a little difficult. Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy in 2019-20, has collected at least 50 goals on three occasions and has also gotten at least 110 points three times, but Rantanen has never been a Hart finalist, has reached the 50-goal mark just once and he’s career high in points is 105, so it’s clear which one of them has a better resume. Still, if Draisaitl could ink an eight-year, $112 million ($14 million cap hit) contract back in September, perhaps Rantanen is thinking at least $12 million annually? Maybe even more? It might be awkward to give Rantanen something at or above Nathan MacKinnon’s eight-year, $100.8 million ($12.6 million cap hit) contract, but MacKinnon inked that back in 2022, and with the cap going up, so too will the payouts for top talent.”

So, you can see why the Avalanche might have opted to move Rantanen rather than lock him up, and there might even be more to this story that we’re not yet aware of. Perhaps the Avalanche presented Rantanen with a competitive offer, and he rejected that. To be clear, that’s purely just hypothetical, and I have no inside knowledge of the situation, so please take my wild speculation as fact, but in that scenario, this trade would make more sense from the Avalanche’s perspective.

That said, I don’t love the return from the Avalanche’s perspective. Colorado is getting Martin Necas and Jack Drury from the Avalanche, as well as some picks. Necas has never reached the 30-goal or 80-point marks, so he doesn’t have the same kind of resume as Rantanen, but Necas is younger at 26 and has done well this campaign with 16 goals and 55 points in 49 appearances. He’ll look good alongside Nathan MacKinnon. My problem with Necas as the return is his two-year, $13 million contract expires in 2026, and then Necas will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. So, if he performs over the next year and a half as the Avalanche hope, then to some extent they just kicked the problem down the road by a year. Granted, Necas probably won’t command what Rantanen did…but that’s only because he’s a downgrade. No offense to Necas -- 99.9 percent of the league is a downgrade to Rantanen -- but the Avalanche are in a win-now mode, so unless retaining Rantanen was completely off the table, this trade feels a little weird to me.

Perhaps I’m undervaluing Jack Drury, though. He has just nine points (three goals) in 39 appearances in 2024-25, but the 24-year-old probably has upside left in him, and the Avalanche will certainly benefit from the center depth. It would not be surprising to see Drury tried out on the third line behind MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt.

The Avalanche also got two picks out of the trade. Not a first-rounder, but maybe in five years or so, we’ll look at one of those draft picks as an underrated benefit of this deal.

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ NYR, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs. LAK)

The teams I highlight are based on a combination of how busy their schedule is for the upcoming week and how favorable those matchups are. Additionally, I will typically present the teams I’ve included in alphabetical order. I’m breaking both of those to include the Hurricanes. I think it’s worth discussing the fallout of the Rantanen trade from the Hurricanes’ perceptive, and it’s better to have that discussion after outlining what this deal means for Colorado. A little bit of housekeeping before we get into the trade talks: The Hurricanes will start next week with a road tilt against the Rangers on Tuesday before hosting the Blackhawks on Thursday and the Kings on Saturday. It’s not a bad schedule, it’s just not special either.

Now to the trade: In addition to Rantanen, the Hurricanes also acquired Taylor Hall from Chicago for the cost of Necas, Drury and draft picks. There was also retained salary in the deal to make the cap situation work.

It’ll be really interesting to see how this plays out for Carolina. Rantanen has never really been “the guy” before. He’s spent basically his entire NHL career to this point in MacKinnon’s shadow, but now Rantanen will be expected to drive the offense in Carolina. Not that he’ll have to do it alone. In fact, Rantanen is likely to get some great linemates in Sebastian Aho (15 goals, 49 points) and Andrei Svechnikov (15 goals, 34 points). There’s every reason to believe that trio will mesh together.

There’s also reason to be optimistic about Carolina retaining Rantanen beyond this campaign. Sure, the Hurricanes’ attempt to lock down Jake Guentzel after acquiring him from Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 campaign ultimately failed, leading to Guentzel instead signing with Tampa Bay over the summer, but Carolina is set to be in a fantastic cap position for 2025-26. Dmitry Orlov ($7.75 million cap hit) and Brent Burns ($5.28 million) are both set to come off the books. Orlov will likely take a big pay cut if he stays at all. It’s not clear if Burns will play beyond this season, but if he does, it’ll likely be at a reduced salary too.

Carolina also doesn’t have any expiring players due for big paydays beyond Rantanen himself. Meanwhile, Puck Pedia is projecting them with $31.2 million in cap space for next season, albeit with just 13 roster spots filled. There is reason to believe the Hurricanes can meet Rantanen’s demands, even if he’s eyeing something close to what Draisaitl got.

What happens with Rantanen will go a long way towards defining how this trade is viewed, but adding Hall as well in the trade is interesting. He’s been middling this campaign with nine goals and 24 points in 46 appearances with the Blackhawks while averaging a modest 14:59 of ice time. It’s a far cry from what the 33-year-old did in his prime, but he might do better now that he’s on a contender. Hall will probably end up serving on the second line alongside some combination of Seth Jarvis (18 goals, 38 points), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10 goals, 23 points) and Jackson Blake (11 goals, 16 points).

The Hurricanes’ overall offense has been good -- they rank fifth with 3.37 goals per game – but their scoring depth does leave something to be desired, especially if Carolina does go with that stacked top line of Svechnikov-Aho-Rantanen, so even a decent showing out of Hall would be a big boost.

Carolina likely doesn’t have any room left to make anymore notable additions before the trade deadline, but as it is, the Hurricanes do look like serious contenders.

New York Islanders (Tue vs COL, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ FLA)

It might be premature to assume that the Islanders will miss the playoffs in 2024-25 for just the second time in seven years, but the team certainly has a hole to dig out of. They’ll attempt to better their situation next week, which will start with a home game against the Avalanche on Tuesday. The Islanders will then hit the road to play in Philadelphia on Thursday, Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. It’s a tough schedule to be sure, but the Islanders are running out of margin for error, so they need to find a way to win difficult matches.

The Islanders inked Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract Friday, which is…a choice. He’s been bought out twice at the NHL level, which led to him joining the KHL, but DeAngelo only served in 34 games with St. Petersburg SKA before his contract was mutually terminated. He’s questionable in his own end and seems to be a lightning rod for controversy. Still, for as much as there’s a reason why teams keep souring on him, there is also a cause for the infinite number of “second” chances he’s gotten.

DeAngelo, under the right circumstances, can be very effective when the puck is on his stick. He has surpassed the 40-point mark three times at the NHL level and had six goals and 32 points in 34 KHL outings before parting ways with SKA. So, for all the negatives he comes with, at least the 29-year-old has that going for him.

A team in a good spot probably wouldn’t bother with DeAngelo given the baggage, but the Islanders are 28th in goals per game with 2.66 and have lost Noah Dobson to a lower-body injury. Dobson is week-to-week after sustaining the injury Monday. He’s a vital part of the Islanders, and while DeAngelo isn’t a good enough blueliner to fully replace Dobson, one part of that void that DeAngelo likely can fill is the offensive loss. DeAngelo might only serve on the third pairing, but he will likely feature on the top power-play unit and could have fantasy value if that’s his role. His fantasy value will be even higher in leagues that include PIM as a category because he tends to end up in the sin bin a fair amount.

Under ideal circumstances, DeAngelo’s inclusion might even offer a boost to Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, who will presumably share the ice with him on the power play. The Islanders are dead last in power-play conversions at just 12.2 percent, which has been a drag on the overall offensive output of the Islanders’ top forwards. If DeAngelo can help make the Islanders’ power play even remotely close to average, then that would add up meaningfully for all involved.

Of course, all this is assuming a favorable outcome, which is always a risky thing to believe in when it comes to DeAngelo. At the time of writing, his inclusion on the Islanders isn’t guaranteed. Though the contract has been signed, he needs to clear waivers before he can play for the Islanders. I wouldn’t bet on another team claiming him, but then again, I didn’t anticipate this move from New York, and yet, here we are.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs NJD, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs NYI, Sun @ COL)

The Flyers missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, but at least they managed to stay in contention for most of the campaign. They’d like to do one better this year and secure a Wild Card spot, but there’s a lot of competition for those two seeds, so every game is that much more important. The Flyers will start the week with a home-and-away series against the Devils on Monday and Wednesday before hosting the Islanders on Thursday. Philadelphia will conclude its weekly schedule in Colorado on Sunday.

Goaltending has been a recurring issue for Philadelphia this season. Samuel Ersson is just too inconsistent, leading to a 14-8-2 record, 2.80 GAA and .891 save percentage in 26 appearances. Ivan Fedotov is no better, though, at 4-6-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .880 save percentage in 14 starts.

The tragedy is that the Flyers are actually a really good defensive team, locked in a four-way tie for sixth in xGA/60 (2.85). The problem is purely the goaltenders. Ersson ranks 83rd among all netminders in goals allowed above expected at minus-8.8, per Moneypuck. The only netminders worse in that category with at least 20 games played are Petr Mrazek, Tristan Jarry, Alexandar Georgiev and Philipp Grubauer. One of those (Jarry) was sent to the minors due to his play while Mrazek and Georgiev are playing for rebuilding squads in Chicago and San Jose. In other words, it’s unflattering company for Ersson.

The Flyers offense isn’t great, but it’s decent. Travis Konecny (21 goals, 56 points) is doing his best to push the team into contention. He’s also been particularly productive recently, supplying five goals and 15 points across his past 13 appearances.

Owen Tippett is benefiting from playing alongside Konecny. The 25-year-old Tippett has three goals and six points over his last eight games, giving him 14 goals and 30 points in 50 outings overall. That duo doesn’t combine to create a top line that will turn heads, but it does the job well enough.

The Flyers are hoping that Matvei Michkov might eventually headline a unit of his own, but the rookie has been streaky. That’s pretty common for a young forward. You just need to keep an eye out and bench him during the down patches. We might be entering one right now -- he has been held off the scoresheet in each of his past two games after supplying two goals and five points across six outings from Jan. 11-21.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon @ SJS, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs NSH)

Like the Islanders and Flyers, Pittsburgh is on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race but is still in the running. The Penguins will play in San Jose on Monday and Utah on Wednesday before returning home to host the Predators on Saturday. The Sharks and Predators own two of the worst records in the league, so Pittsburgh needs to pick up points during that stretch if the Penguins are going to convince GM Kyle Dubas that this team can make a serious playoff push this year.

And make no mistake: Dubas likely needs some convincing. RG.org claims to have a source that Pittsburgh is willing to trade anyone other than Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and Owen Pickering. The source was also asked about Kris Letang, and they weren’t sure about him.

Erik Karlsson stands out as the biggest player not ruled out. The Penguins would likely need to retain salary -- his cap hit is $11.5 million annually through 2026-27, but the Sharks are already retaining $1.5 million, bringing the current hit to Pittsburgh down to $10 million -- but as long as Pittsburgh is willing to do that, the return could be fairly nice. Although he’s 34 years old, he’s been effective this campaign with four goals and 32 points in 50 outings.

One potential sticking point is that he has a no-movement clause. He already waived it once to move from San Jose to Pittsburgh, but presumably, there would only be certain teams he’d be willing to play for. The fun destination from a fan perspective would be a return to the Senators, but that would be difficult to make work from a cap perspective. Maybe Calgary or Columbus? The Flames and Blue Jackets are teams trending in the right direction who also have plenty of cap space. Perhaps they’d value his veteran leadership in addition to what he brings to the table on the ice. Columbus’ defense already looks fairly solid and is led by a phenomenal offensive defenseman in Zach Werenski, so I don’t know that the Blue Jackets are a great fit. Karlsson would likely provide a meaningful boost to the Flames, though.

Of course, if you're Crosby or Malkin, you’re still going to be clinging onto the hope of making the playoffs this year, so these upcoming games are extremely high stakes for them. Rust is dealing with a lower-body injury, which does complicate things, but if Rust ends up missing time, then you’ll probably see Anthony Beauvillier play with one of those highly motivated superstars.

Seattle Kraken (Mon @ EDM, Tue vs ANA, Thu vs SJS, Sun vs CGY)

Seattle will begin its weekly schedule with what’s likely to be a difficult matchup in Edmonton on Monday. However, the Kraken will then return home to host Anaheim on Tuesday, San Jose on Thursday and Calgary on Sunday. The Ducks and Sharks have struggled this campaign, so those are favorable matchups for the Kraken.

I briefly touched on Philip Grubauer above in the context of how bad he’s been this campaign -- and really for a while now. He has a 3.09 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 150 games since joining Seattle. His six-year, $35.4 million deal, which started in 2021-22, has been such a waste for the Kraken.

On the plus side, the Kraken have Joey Daccord, who has a 16-11-2 record, 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage in 31 appearances in 2024-25. He could certainly use more offensive support, though.

Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 14 goals and 36 points in 49 appearances this season. That puts him outside of the NHL’s top 75 in the scoring race. Seattle also doesn’t employ any of the 32 players who have reached the 20-goal milestone. Jaden Schwartz is the closest at 16. A lack of big-name talent up front is really hurting this team.

Maybe Matty Beniers will still fill that void, but he’s been a mixed bag. He was Seattle’s first-ever draft pick -- the No. 2 overall selection in 2021 -- and he seemed to be on the fast track after supplying three goals and nine points in 10 NHL outings in 2021-22 followed by 24 goals and 57 points in 80 appearances last season. However, he took a big step back last year, dipping to 37 points, and he hasn’t rebounded much this campaign with 10 goals and 26 points in 49 appearances. He’s still just 22 years old, so there’s plenty of time for him to find his way, but it’s looking less and less likely that this year will be a positive for him.

Another former No. 2 pick seems to have found his way with Seattle, though. Since being acquired from the Rangers on Feb. 18, Kaapo Kakko has four goals and 13 points in 16 outings, giving the Kraken some of that offensive prowess they’ve desperately needed. He’s been averaging 16:50 of ice time in Seattle, which is up from 13:17 with the Rangers -- he had four goals and 14 points in 30 contests before the trade -- which goes a long way toward explaining his production jump.

There never seemed to be much of a role for Kakko in New York, so this change of scenery is probably exactly what he needed. Although his scoring pace might dip somewhat, he should continue to do well with Seattle.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ STL, Wed @ NSH, Fri @ DAL, Sun @ DET)

The Canucks have been a mess on and off the ice lately. Will things get any better for them or will the descent continue next week? They’ll start on the road with games in St. Louis on Monday, Nashville on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday. Vancouver will then host the Red Wings on Sunday.

There’s been plenty of speculation about the Canucks potentially moving one of Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller for off-ice reasons. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Hurricanes were considering acquiring one of those star forwards before opting to instead get Rantanen from Colorado, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. Carolina is likely out as a destination now, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vancouver still trade one of Miller or Pettersson. The Rangers have been brought up before as a potential destination, so maybe there’s still something to be had there.

Perhaps because this has been distracting them, Vancouver has been in free fall, going 6-10-6 since Dec. 8. Miller had a five-game scoring drought from Jan. 8-16, but he’s otherwise remained effective, collecting eight goals and 33 points in 37 outings this campaign. It’s still far behind his regular-season production from 2023-24 (37 goals, 103 points), but at least he’s providing close to a point-per-game.

Pettersson hasn’t given anything close to that lately. He has just three goals and four points across his past 14 appearances. That slump has undermined a strong start to the campaign, leaving him with 11 goals and 30 points in 41 outings overall. He’ll probably bounce back eventually, but his slump is certainly part of the reason for the Canucks’ decline.

Thatcher Demko isn’t helping either, though. Since making his season debut Dec. 10 after returning from a knee injury, he has a 3-5-3 record, 3.47 GAA and .867 save percentage in 12 games. Some rust is to be expected after missing the opening months of the season, but he’s showing no signs of improvement, going 1-3-0 with a 4.03 GAA and an .833 save percentage across his past four outings. Kevin Lankinen is far from a sure thing either, but he’s been the better option with his 16-8-6 record, 2.63 GAA and .903 save percentage in 30 appearances.

It's unfortunate because Demko has shown in the past that he can be an elite netminder, and Vancouver could certainly use the help right now. As it is, though, about the only positive in Vancouver is that Quinn Hughes is still Quinn Hughes with 12 goals and 52 points in 43 appearances, including four goals and 10 points across his past nine outings.

Hughes just needs other stars to go back to living up to their names as well.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – CAROLINA HURRICANES – Team Preview

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 20:00:50 +0000

_{PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 26: Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) skates during the third period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes on March 26, 2024, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)}

After making the playoffs for the past five campaigns and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals twice, Carolina entered 2023-24 as potential contenders for the Cup. The regular season largely went as planned with the Hurricanes posting a 52-23-7 record on the strength of a balanced offence and a stellar defence -- Carolina led the league with a xGA/60 of just 2.65. To bolster the Hurricanes’ Cup chances, they acquired high-end forward Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh and took a chance by acquiring the struggling Evgeny Kuznetsov from Washington. Kuznetsov ended up holding his own with Carolina, and Guentzel was his usual dominant self, but even that wasn’t enough. Carolina bested the Islanders in the first round but couldn’t overcome the Rangers in the second.

WHAT’S CHANGED? The Hurricanes were unable to sign Guentzel to a long-term deal, and ultimately cut their losses by trading his negotiating rights to Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2025 third-round selection before he became an unrestricted free agent. Kuznetsov then mutually agreed with Carolina to terminate his contract so he could play in the KHL, so both of Carolina’s additions during the 2023-24 campaign are gone. The Hurricanes also lost top-six forward Teuvo Teravainen as well as defencemen Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Tony DeAngelo as unrestricted free agents. In an attempt to offset those blueline losses, Carolina inked free agents Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker. Carolina also signed bottom-six forward William Carrier.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? After six years of being good, but not good enough, anything short of a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals would probably be seen as a disappointment. The Hurricanes certainly might accomplish that feat. Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas are in their respective primes while Seth Jarvis is fast becoming a star. If Pyotr Kochetkov builds off his strong 2023-24 campaign, and Frederik Andersen stays relatively healthy, Carolina will have a solid goaltending duo. Plus, Gostisbehere is a nice power-play specialist, making the Hurricanes even stronger in that regard.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Although Carolina has plenty of different strengths, it would be argued that sound defensive play has been the secret sauce to the Hurricanes’ dominance. Carolina has finished in the top five in xGA/60 in each of the past four campaigns and led the league in that category for each of the last two years. With that in mind, losing two of the squad’s top-four defencemen in Skjei and Pesce might hurt the team’s dynamics more than it initially seems. Gostisbehere is an offensive-minded blueliner and Walker is primarily a third-pairing guy, so neither of them are pure replacements for what Carolina lost. Another member of Carolina’s top-four blueline, Brent Burns, is also in danger of regressing at the age of 39. None of that would make the Hurricanes bad, but perhaps they won’t be quite as good as they have been in recent years.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Then again, the loss of Skjei and Pesce coupled with the possible regression of Burns has created an opportunity for rookie Scott Morrow. The rookie blueliner was strong with UMass-Amherst last year, scoring six goals and 30 points in 37 contests. Morrow has the potential to be a great two-way defenceman, and he’s one of the Hurricanes’ best prospects.

FORWARD

Sebastian Aho

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	42	56	98	1.20

2023 was just another year at the office for the Hurricanes star forward. It was his most productive season in the NHL, recording a career-high 89 points and he maintained his consistent scoring pace with another 35+ goal season. He does everything for the team, thriving as a center who can handle the offence and the tough matchups on the top line and is an integral part of their aggressive penalty kill. His work on the power play is what stood out this year, recording a career-high 32 points with the man advantage, running the power play from the left wall and also playing the bumper position depending on the situation. His versatile approach to goal-scoring makes him a weapon in all situations, possessing a great shot with good speed to get open looks off the rush and finding sneaky ways to get himself open in front of the net. With Carolina always searching for a goal-scorer, Aho eventually has to be the guy to pick up the slack. He’s one of their best playmakers and doesn’t have the best shot, but he is the best at knowing what you need to do to score goals. On a team that loves to possess the puck, someone has to make it count for something and Aho is the best at it. It’s a part of his game that has yet to tail off and makes him the heartbeat of this Carolina team. Is this the season he surpasses 40 goals and flirts with 100 points?

Andrei Svechnikov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
71	24	38	62	0.87

Recovering from knee surgery, Svechnikov’s season didn’t start until late October, and it took him until mid-December to start getting back into form. After that, his season mirrored most of his NHL career. He was among the team leaders in shot volume and most offensive categories but didn’t score as many goals as fans or the team had hoped. Svechnikov looks like an unstoppable force at times, playing a power forward type game with deceptively good playmaking skills thrown in. The latter part of his game is always going to be unappreciated because he’s topped out as a 20-25 goal-guy instead of the 30+ guy most were hoping he would be. That and it’s easier for forgive the high number of penalties he takes when he’s more consistent with scoring goals rather than being a setup guy. His NHL track record isn’t bad, last year being one of his best with a 72-point pace, but the Hurricanes are hoping he can take the next step to become a superstar. Which is ultimately going to come down to if he can find the back of the net more often. He had the toolset to do it, the heavy wristshot combined with that powerful skating stride and playmaking skills should make him one of the more feared forwards in the NHL even if the results haven’t followed just yet. There is considerable upside but better to play it safe and draft for 70 games and 25 goals and 30 – 35 assists.

Seth Jarvis

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	40	38	78	0.98

Jarvis is the epitome of a Hurricanes forward in a lot of ways. He’s undersized, but strong as an ox. He’s a high-motor player who battles hard to get to the front of the net and creates a lot of offence from around the blue paint. Last year was the first time he saw a reward for it on the scoresheet with a 33-goal season and finding a permanent home in Carolina’s top six. The high-effort game takes a toll on his body and leads to some streaky production, but after three years in the league he’s starting to learn some of the tools to become a more consistent player. He still forechecks hard but doesn’t always go in at full speed for every loose puck, finding more creative ways to win battles and get himself open in front of the net instead. He can still pick a corner and be the lethal sniper off the rush but being a net-front menace has more of a reward in the Canes system. His breakout season filled a major void in Carolina’s forward corps, and he became one of the team’s cornerstones by the end of the year, playing on both special teams units by the end of the season. With still a relatively small NHL track record, Jarvis still has to prove if he can produce like this on a yearly basis, but he has established himself as a key part of Carolina’s future. He finished last year on a point per game pace and firing 14 goals in his last 18 games. Entering his fourth season he is capable of 40 goals and a point-per-game.

Martin Necas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	31	37	68	0.83

Necas somewhat fell back to earth after a breakout season where it looked like he was on the path to stardom. A strong start was followed by a winter slump where he scored only five goals in 27 games through November and December. He began to return to form in mid-January after a brief stint on the IR, scoring at almost a point-per-game pace for three months before ending the season on a slow note that carried over into the playoffs. Finding linemates for him was an issue and the numbers game forced Necas off the top power play unit, so he didn’t have the same opportunities he did in 2022-23 when he was one of the few guys on the team who could produce offence. His talent is undeniable, but his preference for the one-man cycle game and tendency to make things happen on his own made him an awkward fit on most lines, although the Canes lack of a true second line pivot also contributed to that. Necas often had to play the one-man game because his linemates didn’t know what he was going to do, and the safer option was to just go to the net so he could do whatever he wanted high in the zone. Sometimes it worked, but he didn’t have enough players working with him last year. Even with his name being in trade rumors all summer, he’s slated to return to the Hurricanes for another year and should be back in a top six role with the Hurricanes losing a few forwards through free agency. Whether in Carolina or elsewhere he can produce 25 – 30 goals and 65 – 70 points with upside if he can find chemistry.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	16	22	38	0.50

At the start of the year, there were reasons to be optimistic about Kotkaniemi’s progression with Carolina. He began the season with 10 points in his first 10 games and was reliable as a pivot who could take advantage of playing with some of the team’s higher end skill guys like Martin Necas. Unfortunately, it was short lived as Kotkaniemi ended the season with only 27 points which included a three-month drought where he didn’t score a single goal. He went from centering the second line to playing regularly on the fourth line, even finding himself in the press box for a couple games. He is the negative side of the coin of a player with a ‘Jack of All Trades’ skillset, because he’s above average in most areas but not great at anything. The only exception being his heavy shot, which he needs a lot of time and space to release. One of the few skilled puck carriers on a forecheck-heavy team, Kotkaniemi’s skillset is needed but it comes back to him finding his confidence and the coaching staff trusting him again. Even when he was playing better, neither he nor his linemates could find the back of the net so it was hard for him to find any rhythm. With the roster currently loaded with middle-six players, Kotkaniemi needs to show some improvement to stand out from the pack. Now in his seventh season, and while young, a breakout is looking unlikely and should draft for around 15 goals and 30 – 40 points.

Jack Roslovic

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	18	19	37	0.49

Roslovic’s season was hampered by injuries, but he was trusted with some good linemates in both Columbus and New York, spending time on the Johnny Gaudreau line in Columbus and with Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers second line in the playoffs. His speed, lanky frame and occasional highlight reel play make him a desirable candidate for that role, but the results have been scattered over his career. Prone to both cold spells in goal-scoring and driving play. Last year being one of his stronger seasons in the play-driving department. As a pass-first player, it’s expected for his results to be more linemate driven, but Roslovic’s strength in the transition game gives him some quick-strike ability that every team can use. He’s an interesting fit in Carolina on a one-year ticket. His versatility will be nice, but it’s tough to say if his love for carrying the puck will fill a need or be an awkward fit in their forecheck-heavy system. There’s potential for him to be the center who can mesh with Necas’ skill, but his inconsistent play-driving could make the Canes pull the plug on that line before it has a chance to gel. He has skills they can use but could be short on linemates on a roster lacking top-end talent. He has only hit 20 goals once and risky to project at much more than that with an equal amount of assists.

Jordan Martinook

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	16	22	38	0.46

Best suited for a checking role, Martinook is usually the first one to get promoted to the top six whenever the Canes need a spark. He plays a straight-forward game with a lot of energy, so it’s easy to see why he’s been a favourite of Rod Brind’Amour since his arrival in Raleigh. His last two seasons have been his most productive, despite him being in his early 30’s. Although a career high of 34 points isn’t going to land you in a lot of record books. Point production is usually secondary when it comes to him, as Martinook is a key cog in their checking line and penalty kill. There’s more skill to his game than meets the eye, as Martinook has decent wheels and a deceptively good shot that makes him dangerous on breakaways. His knack for getting deflections on point shots also makes him a player you have to watch for sometimes. There isn’t much creativity in his game, but it’s not expected given his normal role. He’s the modern-day checking line forward who plays with a lot of tenacity but hasn’t lost the skill he had in juniors. Martinook finally earned a raise this off-season, signing a three-year deal after a couple years of team-friendly contracts with the Hurricanes. He will continue to be one of the team’s sparkplugs provided he stays healthy. Expect similar production.

William Carrier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
64	12	17	29	0.45

Carrier wasn’t the most well-known member of the inaugural Vegas squad, but he was an underrated part of their core. He played a fourth line role but on a higher end in the 11–13-minute range, often used in their starting lineup to help set the tone. He plays super aggressive on the forecheck and brings more skill than you’d expect, surprisingly one of the Vegas leaders in shot and scoring chance setups per 60 minutes during his time there. Most of those are meat and potatoes plays, getting the puck back to the point and crashing the net, but that’s a welcome addition on the Hurricanes. So much so that they opted to sign him to a six-year deal. Carrier isn’t the player you expect to have under contract until he’s 35 years old, but in the immediate he provides help to a Carolina team that was looking to add size and physicality in the off-season. His love for crashing the net and setting up point shots should give his assist total a boost. A nice player to have, but definitely the contract was definitely a head-scratcher for someone who plays lower in the lineup, although he does fill a need with Jesper Fast’s future in jeopardy.

Jack Drury

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	11	23	34	0.43

In search of some form of reliability at the 2C spot, Jack Drury emerged as the guy in the playoffs. Spending most of the season in the bottom-six, Drury found his way as a regular NHLer and the challenge was finding some kind of niche. He hasn’t quite found his game offensively just yet, as his scoring touch isn’t there and he wastes controlled entries with perimeter shots off the rush. Where his game has come along is being a stabilizer and defensive presence alongside Martin Necas. If there was one thing you could count on with Drury, it’s that he could keep play out of the Hurricanes end and be a support valve to help keep possessions alive. He always knows where to be and was a good linemate to deter some of the erratic play of Necas and their defence that loves to pinch at every opportunity. The question is if you want more out of him if he's going to be your second line center. As of now, he’s an excellent fourth or third liner but it’s tough to say if he’ll be a guy who can step up if the Hurricanes need more scoring. He’s also part of a very crowded center corps with no clear number two behind Sebastian Aho. His reliability and potential to do more could give them to edge for that spot, should things break that way.

DEFENCE

Jaccob Slavin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	7	32	39	0.48

A defensive stalwart with incredible endurance, Slavin might be the face of this era of Hurricanes hockey. Last year was his ninth season with the team and he will likely finish his career in Raleigh after signing an eight-year extension over the summer. How that contract ages is a conversation for another day, but he has held up better than most shutdown defencemen through his late 20’s, still posting excellent defensive numbers and remaining one of the league’s best at denying zone entries. Carolina’s quick, but conservative zone exit strategy has helped with some of the wear and tear, as he doesn’t take a lot of hits and is good at avoiding contact in general. Offence isn’t a big part of his game, although he did see an uptick in point production last season despite no power play time. The Hurricanes love of point shots and defencemen pinching make all of their blue liners a threat to get on the scoresheet in some way and Slavin is no different. He has some of the better puck skills among their defence corps, although it’s not something you see from him every game. This year will be a big test for him because he’s always been part of a great collective unit and now, he’s the centerpiece. It shouldn’t be that much of an adjustment since he was always the de facto top guy, but he doesn’t have the same rapport he did with the pieces around him and sometimes it takes time to get new roster additions, especially this many at the top of the lineup.

Brent Burns

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	8	30	38	0.46

Turning 40 years old in March, the only question with Burns is when Father Time will claim him like he does to most players once they reach the back end of their career. Burns has avoided hitting this wall thanks to his freak-like athleticism and training regimen, but you saw hints of it in the playoffs when the game appeared too fast for him. Quicker passing plays would avoid him, and he would be slower to react than usual. His regular season numbers are slightly more optimistic, as the Hurricanes were on the positive side of the shot, goal and scoring chance ledger with him on the ice, although getting deployed with the top line and Jaccob Slavin helps with that. His own game hasn’t changed much late in his career, he will fire everything at the net, and he can still be a force when jumping in from the point. He was also one of the team’s better blue liners at leading breakouts, both with relieving pressure and kickstarting the transition game, which is needed in the Hurricanes rigid system. With one year left on his deal, Carolina is hoping his body can hold up to at least hold the fort down in a top four role, as he doesn’t need to play the big minutes he used to command. He should at least see a reduction in minutes on the power play with more options brought in.

Shayne Gostisbehere

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	11	40	51	0.64

Betting on himself with a one-year deal in Detroit, the veteran defenceman earned himself a nice free agency payday thanks to a monster performance on the power play with 29 points. Returning to Carolina on a three-year deal, he fills a void on a blue line that lost both Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce in free agency, although he’s a different mold than both of those players. A pure power play specialist, Gostisbehere can handle the minutes of what they lost but probably not the assignments against top lines. How much they can shelter him will depend on how the rest of the defence plays, but they’re still going to try to get Ghost out in the offensive zone as much as possible. The Hurricanes foundation is built on a heavy cycle game and point shots, which Gostisbehere can take advantage of with how good he is at creating offence from up high. He’s also not a stranger to playing a simpler game in the defensive zone, even as a puck-mover. He had to do this in Detroit with their system, using the glass for most of his exits and is already familiar with what the Canes system is like. He is a welcome addition to both the Canes power play and five-on-five game, as he will get plenty of pucks thrown his way and his penchant for slipping past forwards for a better shot, will give Carolina a different dynamic high in the zone.

Dmitry Orlov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	6	26	32	0.41

The first season of Dmitry Orlov’s three-year deal was a bumpy ride. Blocked by Slavin and Skjei in the top four, Orlov had to make do with third-pair minutes for most of the year. In theory, he should have crushed these assignments, as he’s used to playing top-pair assignments on good teams. In practice, he struggled to find chemistry with lesser partners and didn’t find his groove until the middle of the year when he was teamed with Jalen Chatfield. The two were arguably the team’s best defence pair in the back half of the season and began playing top-pair minutes at even strength while the rest of the defence corps soaked up the power play time. This year, the training wheels are gone, and Orlov is one of the guys expected to slide up in the lineup to replace what they had in Skjei. Again, this transition shouldn’t be a problem for him in theory but at 33-years old he doesn’t have the same explosiveness as he did in his prime and was on the wrong end of some brutal puck-handling mistakes. Carolina is hoping year two is more of a smooth transition. The prior experience in the top four and chemistry with Chatfield should make the jump easier for him, though.

GOAL

Frederik Andersen

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
39	24	11	3	3	0.914	2.39

Pyotr Kochetkov

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
43	27	13	4	4	0.908	2.49

The Carolina Hurricanes are presumably down to their last season with Frederik Andersen. Unless the now-34-year-old Andersen re-signs on another one or two-year deal with the team at the end of this upcoming campaign, this will be his farewell tour - and that makes this season particularly crucial for the Metropolitan Division franchise, since he's remained their go-to when healthy even after yet another lengthy absence from the lineup. Andersen missed almost the entirety of the 2023-24 season with a blood clot health scare, leaving the Hurricanes to split the net between fellow veteran Antti Raanta and up-and-comer Pyotr Kochetkov. Once he returned, though, Andersen was who the team turned to both down the back stretch and into the postseason. He looked good, but he'll be 35 by the time this year wraps up; it's clear that he's nearing the final few seasons of his NHL career, and Carolina will need to prove that the team's coaching staff feels just as confident relying on Kochetkov in their most crucial games moving into a new era.

Most of Kochetkov's poor performances last season looked simply like a young goaltender learning what it takes to hack it over the long haul in the big leagues, and a concussion forced him to miss a chunk of time in the middle of the year - far from what Hurricanes fans would hope to see after spending the last few seasons forced to sit through a never-ending laundry list of bumps and bruises for both Andersen and Raanta. But while Kochetkov's inexperience made itself known in a handful of games, his overall instincts looked sharp, and his technique looked fluid. His skating ability makes it tough for shooters to take advantage of any decision-making tweaks he still needs; so long as the Hurricanes give him a slightly longer leash to learn the ropes, they should be in good hands.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – CAROLINA HURRICANES – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 18:10:29 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - MAY 09: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns (8) looks on during Game 4 of an Eastern Conference Second Round playoff game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils on May 9, 2023, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Review: The Rod Brind'Amour coaching era continued to be a great time for Carolina in 2022-23. There were some serious issues with Andrei Svechnikov being limited to 64 games, Teuvo Teravainen scoring just 37 points and posting his lowest points-per-game (0.54) since 2016-17 and Max Pacioretty missing almost the entire campaign with a torn Achilles. However, thanks to the rise of Martin Necas and offensive defenseman Brent Burns entering another chapter in his fantastic career, the Hurricanes were able to at least be serviceable offensively and, when combined with their stellar defense, they navigated to a 52-21-9 record and third straight division title. Carolina then made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in five years before running into Florida and getting absolutely goalied by the red-hot Sergei Bobrovsky.

What’s Changed? After Pacioretty spent most of the 2022-23 campaign on the long-term injured reserve list, the Hurricanes let him walk as an unrestricted free agent. Instead, they signed Michael Bunting to a three-year, $13.5 million contract in the hopes he’ll provide some scoring depth and grit. They also signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who has a checkered past, but saw success under Brind'Amour during the 2021-22 campaign and might serve a function again this year, especially on the power play after Carolina finished 20th in that regard in 2022-23 with a 19.8% conversion rate.

What would success look like? Making the playoffs is to be expected at this point, so Carolina’s success will instead by measured by how they do in the postseason. Teravainen missed a good chunk of the 2023 playoffs because of a hand injury, but given his regular season struggles, it’s not clear how helpful he would have been even if he was healthy. A strong campaign out of him would go a long way towards stabilizing the Hurricanes’ offense and putting them in a better position to power through if they run into a hot goaltender again.

What could go wrong? After failing to acquire Erik Karlsson on the trade market, the Hurricanes will still be relying heavily on Burns as their primary puck-moving blueliner, but he’s 38 years old now, so it’s hard to know how much more he’s got left in him. True, they do have DeAngelo again, but he’s usually a defensive liability and thus not a true replacement for Burns if the veteran blueliner takes a significant step back. There’s also a risk that Teravainen won’t bounce back or will once again run into injury troubles. Bunting might not pay off either. While he should provide some sandpaper at least, he also tends to get in trouble, and he’s going from a situation where he largely played alongside Auston Matthews to likely serving on the Hurricanes’ third line, so he might fail to reach even the 40-point milestone this year.

Top Breakout Candidate: If Carolina’s offense could use one more great weapon, then Seth Jarvis might be it. After scoring 31 goals and 79 points in 150 career contests, the 21-year-old forward is well positioned to take the next step. Selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Jarvis is projected to serve on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho this year and should get a decent amount of power-play ice time too.

Forwards

Sebastian Aho - C

A model of consistency for the Hurricanes, Aho scored at a 35+ goal pace for the fourth year in a row. Whether it’s scoring goals or killing penalties, he is the engine that drives the Hurricanes. The team recognized it by re-signing him to an eight-year contract with a cap hit of $9.75 million AAV. Aho has the skillset that can thrive in any system and game situation, possessing an explosive first step and great vision to create quick-strike offense off the rush. An element the Hurricanes don’t have much of. He also doesn’t need a lot of space to create chances, being able to test goaltenders from awkward angles and find loose spots in coverage. This is a crucial skillset on a forecheck-heavy team like Carolina, so the strong work he does on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone is an added bonus. They are hoping he gets a little more finishing help from his linemates this year, as Aho produced at under the point-per-game mark last year despite a 36-goal season. It’s the one thing keeping him from being considered in the elite class of the NHL.

Andrei Svechnikov - LW

Around mid-November, it looked like Svechnikov was heading for stardom. He had 11 goals and 17 points in only 14 games, culminating with a hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 12th. Since then, he scored only 12 goals in his next 50 games before a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Svechnikov has the complete package of an elite power forward. He can move the puck from one zone to the next without much effort and take the puck from the wall to the net better than almost anybody. The goals just haven’t followed as much as anybody hoped. He still provided a lot of value as a playmaker, especially in the left circle on the power play, but not at the superstar level the team envisioned. Being a streaky goal-scorer, he was primed to finish the season on a strong note but never got a chance. Right now, he is someone with a game-breaking skillset that hasn’t had the results to match it, but at only 23-years old he has plenty of time to break into that class. Carolina is hoping the goals come to him for the rest of the year as easily as they did in October.

Martin Necas - RW

Carolina wasn’t sure what they had in Martin Necas around this time last year. He was signed to a two-year bridge deal after a disappointing 40-point season and responded by having a true breakout season. Doubling his goal total and leading the team in points with 71 in 82 games. Carolina used him on the penalty kill, their top power play unit and extensively in overtime, scoring four game-winners. He excels in the playmaker role, as he loves to roam the perimeter and the neutral zone looking to thread the needle through defenders. That is still part of his game, but he toned it back a little this year and became more of a dual-threat with creating his own shot by getting to the slot on his own or using his linemates on quick give-and-go plays instead of settling for low-percentage passes to nobody. This resulted in more consistent production from Necas and made him one of Carolina’s more reliable players for most of the year. Keeping this up through April and May is the next step for the former first round pick.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi - C

The Hurricanes were waiting for Kotkaniemi to take that next step and in some ways he did. Jumping from the fourth line to the second line, the former third overall pick made some strides as one of the team’s rocks in their top-nine. Doing a lot of the little things and providing a steadying presence alongside Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas. He posted some of the strongest defensive numbers on the team, limiting shots and scoring chances while getting the tough matchups some nights. His offensive game is still a work in progress, as he isn’t very quick with the puck and opts for the simple play more times than not. It started to come around for him in the second half, as he posted 31 points in 46 games after Jan 1^st with career highs across the board. There is always going to be the question of if he can do more and become a true game-breaker for Carolina, but he is currently poised to be their shutdown center of the future.

Michael Bunting - LW

Every top-six need complementary players and you’ll struggle to find a better one than Michael Bunting. He has spent the last two years skating on the Maple Leafs top line after a long career in the minors and parlayed it into a nice three-year deal with Carolina. He knows how to take advantage of playing with elite talent, always finding the soft spots in coverage or being a nuisance in front of the net. Last year was somewhat of a down season for him, as he was more of a pain for the officials than opposing goaltenders, but he still scored a respectable 23 goals. His skillset fits the Hurricanes needs, as they needed a jolt in their top-six and Bunting is the complementary, net front player Aho has missed in recent years. He should have plenty of rebound opportunities in Carolina.

Seth Jarvis - RW

The sophomore slump can be tough for some players, and this was true for Seth Jarvis. Not only did he struggle to get on the scoresheet, but he wasn’t creating chances or driving play at the same level he was in his rookie year. Part of it was bad luck, as his shooting percentage dropped by over 50%, the other was Jarvis struggling to create on his own. In his rookie season, he was one of the team’s better players at creating in transition, making the extra play in the neutral zone to create quick-strike offense. Last year, other players had to set him up and he was poaching more goals from in front of the net. He had a slight resurgence in the second half, but still failed to top his numbers from his rookie season. Still young, Jarvis is still finding his way in the league and the Canes are hoping he can return to being more of a consistent threat in the top-six.

Teuvo Teravainen - LW

Teravainen had a rare down season in his seven-year Hurricane career, spending various times on injured reserve and scoring at only a 44-point pace, which would be his lowest since 2016-17. Most of his best skills are away from the puck. Always in the right position to receive a pass, disrupt a cycle or make it tougher to get through the neutral zone. Those parts of Teravainen’s game were still there, but the offense was steps behind his usual pace. His hands weren’t as quick or sharp as they usually are and most of his one-timers ended up going nowhere near the target. He did what he could to pitch in, but it is tough to be a key player on a top line when you don’t get a lot of puck touches and you can’t execute at the same level as you used to. Carolina is sticking with him in the final year of his contract, and he will have some competition to keep his spot on Aho’s wing.

Jordan Staal - C

Not much happens when Jordan Staal is on the ice and that’s usually a good thing for your team’s shutdown center. The Canes don’t score a lot of goals when his line is out there but neither do their opponents. This has been his role for most of his 12-year career in Raleigh. His condor wingspan and huge frame make him a tough matchup, as he excels at playing the keep away brand of hockey the Hurricanes have made their bread and butter. The offense usually comes in bunches for him, as 11 of his 17 goals came in a 30-game span from December to February and his puck skills haven’t gotten much better as he’s gotten older. Playing a basic brand of offense where he scores most of his goals from brute force than a high level of finesse. Still, when playoff time comes, he is the one who gets the matchup minutes and it’s a big reason why the Canes re-signed him to a four-year deal.

Stefan Noesen - RW

Noesen played his way back into the NHL after an incredible season with the Chicago Wolves and a strong training camp. He didn’t relinquish this spot and became more of an important player on the Hurricanes as the year went on, playing anywhere from the top line to the fourth line. Also earning some spot duty as a net front player on the top power play unit. This was especially important in the playoffs where he was a permanent fixture in the top-six due to a barrage of injuries in Carolina’s wing depth. He possesses a Swiss-army knife skillset where he can fill in almost anywhere, playing the high-intensity game needed for a checking line role and having enough puck skill to take advantage of playing with top liners. He showed some limitations keeping up with the speed of the game, but his stint in Carolina has rejuvenated his career as a role player who can pitch in anywhere.

Defense

Brent Burns - D

While on the back nine of his career, a stop in Carolina was just what the former Norris winner needed to get his game back on track. He could play most of the game with the puck in front of him, taking advantage of Carolina’s strong possession game and got back to a level we saw in the mid-2010’s with the Sharks. With most of the Hurricane’s offense being based off point shots and deflections, this was a perfect environment for Burns to get his career back on track and he posted his highest point total since 2018. He also was a regular on their penalty kill and more than held his own at even strength, especially in the defensive zone. Provided more of a physical presence on their top pair and giving them a dynamic shooting threat at the point. The only question with Burns is how soon he starts to look like a defenseman pushing 40. He is one of the most physically gifted athletes in the league, so he has a little more rope than others, but father time is undefeated.

Jaccob Slavin - D

Regarded as one of the league’s top defensive defensemen, 2022-23 was another year at the office for Jaccob Slavin. Posting solid numbers on the Hurricanes top pair while pitching in on offense when needed. He saw a big drop in his point production, but this is secondary when considering that he spent most of his five-on-five ice time with Brent Burns, who is taking most of the shot opportunities on that pair. He is the prototype for the modern shutdown defenseman, a lanky player with a great reach and someone who takes terrific angles to disrupt even some of the best skating forwards. It has been this way since he entered the league in 2015 and his game has yet to drop off despite the massive workload he takes on, playing in all situations for the Canes. We should expect more of the same, although with even less power play time on Carolina’s stacked defense corps.

Dmitry Orlov - D

A surprising move to kick off free agency was Carolina signing Dmitry Orlov to a two-year deal, paying him $7.75 million AAV, and creating an embarrassment of riches on their blue line. Where he slots in will be interesting, but he possesses a terrific all-around skillset. He can play the skilled game, as he’s an excellent puck-mover who loves joining the rush, as well as the physical game. Stepping up on forwards at the opposing blue line is one of his trademarks. Orlov’s playing style is more about his skill with the puck, but he’s been used in more of a shutdown role for most of his career. He was always the rock in Washington’s top four that allowed John Carlson to focus more on offense in easier matchups, so it will be interesting to see how the Canes utilize him. He saw his boxcar stats blow up in his short stint with Boston alongside Charlie McAvoy, recording 17 points in 23 games (after only 19 in 43 with the Caps). The flashes were always there with Washington even if the point total never was. The only major concern with him is that he’s 32-years old and hasn’t played a full season since 2019.

Tony DeAngelo - D

The talented defenseman made the most of what was a “last chance” type of deal in Carolina two years ago. The Canes opted to walk from his RFA deal, trading him to Philadelphia, who happily paid him $5 million AAV. In a sense, they got what they expected out of DeAngelo. He scored a career high 11 goals, quarterbacked their top power play unit and he had a standard year for himself offensively. However, he was also tasked with playing a bigger role outside of the insulation he got on Carolina’s top pair alongside Jaccob Slavin, tasked with more defensive responsibility and having to play tougher minutes in general. He handled the puck-moving part of his role well, but his small frame and over-aggressive play made him a tough fit in the top-four, with the Flyers moving him down in the lineup as the season went on. They opted to buy out the last year of his contract after a trade with the Hurricanes fell through and Carolina happily signed him at a low-dollar contract hit at $1.675 million for one season. Having even more help around him now, he is in a good position to have another nice offensive season. Carolina knows how to play to his strengths and have a deep defense corps.

Brady Skjei - D

Only six defensemen have scored more than 20 goals over the past two seasons and Brady Skjei is one of them. It has been interesting to watch his career revival since being acquired from the Rangers in early 2020. He came to the team as a large, physical defenseman who could skate well but not provide much value outside of the penalty kill. As he got more acclimated to the system, the rest of his game started to come around. He became a very solid top-four defenseman who could handle the tough matchups alongside Brett Pesce and gave the Canes two pairs they can trust against anybody. The real surprise, however, was the offense. Skjei became one of the team’s best shooters, always getting room to pick a corner off the rush or on a cycle from the left faceoff circle. He doubled his career high in goals and tied a Carolina record for goals by a defenseman. It’s tough to see this carrying over, especially with Orlov in the fold now, and the goal-scoring covered up some of the high-risk parts of his game. Not enough that he should be demoted to the third pair, but the depth Carolina has on defense might force him into a more low-leverage role.

Goaltending

Frederik Andersen - G

Few goaltenders had better bounce-back years than veteran netminder Frederik Andersen upon his arrival in Carolina. He was one-half of a somewhat surprising tandem brought on board by the Hurricanes in the 2021 off-season, brought on after a disappointing end to his career in Toronto to tandem with fellow veteran Antti Raanta after the Hurricanes all but cleaned house in net. The team’s gamble paid off, with Andersen posting one of his best statistical seasons in his first full year in Raleigh – and although he wasn’t quite able to replicate that this past year, it’s still not quite time to panic for the Hurricanes as they consider one more year of Andersen at the helm.

He remains the sturdier veteran option for Carolina despite posting the worst numbers of the team’s three 2022-23 netminders. Those numbers, though, looked less like a legitimate regression and more like the result of a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of bad luck, and a pinch of expected aging slowing him down. Andersen is still a goaltender who does well making the first move, pushing out to get set for a shot in advance and recovering to his feet rather than spending the bulk of his time on his knees. But his edges have slowed a hair in the last few years, and he’s never quite been able to thrive making desperation saves through traffic – so as his game has matured over the years, he’s become less likely to steal saves when his sightlines are taken away on defensive breakdowns. Luckily, the Carolina system works well in his favor, so he should still be a good option for the Hurricanes as they transition to Pyotr Kotchetkov. But he no longer has a clear statistical advantage over Antti Raanta as the option the Hurricanes should turn to if they need to choose between one or the other; if anything, his security with the Hurricanes relies more on Raanta’s ever-questionable health than on his own performances.

Projected starts: 30-35

Antti Raanta - G

There isn’t much left to say for Antti Raanta at this point that hasn’t already been said. The Finnish netminder might be the most injury-prone workhorse in the league; he’s guaranteed to go down with at least one or two scrapes and bruises every year but is perhaps the most likely veteran in the entire NHL to maintain his good numbers whether he’s missed a week or half a season with an injury. Last season was a case in point; even though he only appeared in 27 games all year, he was still Carolina’s strongest statistical performer and put up his seventh year with at least a .910 unadjusted save percentage. He still plays a reliable, consistent style that challenges skaters to look for holes in his coverage and then utilizes quick recoveries and effective hands to close them off once the puck has left someone’s stick. And like every other year, he’s still only as reliable as his body; while Carolina almost certainly wishes they could use him as a steady presence to usher Kotchetkov into the NHL full-time, he’s failed to string together a lengthy enough healthy stretch in any season for nearly his entire decade-long career for any GM to feel comfortable keeping him as their only veteran option. He’s effective to have around, especially if the Hurricanes are worried that Andersen may be headed for another season of regression – but unless they’re confident Kotchetkov can stay in the NHL full-time and put up a 45-plus game campaign, they can’t keep Raanta as their only piece of the puzzle.

Projected starts: 35-40

MCKEEN’S 2023 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – #13 Carolina Hurricanes

Derek Neumeier — Sun, 21 May 2023 12:58:39 +0000

Since Rod Brind’Amour became coach of the Hurricanes they have not missed the playoffs and have always advanced beyond the first round except once. As of this writing they find themselves headed for a second Conference Final under his leadership. This has been accomplished with what remains a very young core group – Sebastian Aho (25-years old), Andre Svechnikov (23), injured for these playoffs, and Martin Necas (24). While a solid veteran core did much of the heavy lifting, the experience received by these young players will be invaluable in the future. They are joined by emerging star Seth Jarvis (21) and a late blooming Jesper Kotkaniemi (22), showing poise in the playoffs. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (23) looks to be the future in net.

GM Don Waddell, in place since 2018, retains a full slate of draft picks for the next three years, with a couple of late round additions. He owns a prospect pool led by one of the hottest prospects currently in Alexander Nikishin. He is signed in Russia until 2024-25 but adds another high-end piece down the road. The team has nine prospects in our top 200, which shows the depth of their development pipeline. There are a variety of styles and roles in that group, including plug and play Jack Drury (ranked #50) who could be a part of the mix as soon as next season. With a solid foundation that has had playoff success already, Waddell will continue to let the current line-up develop under a coach they continue to respond to. The Brent Burns addition in the summer points to the select moves they are likely to make. They are a perennial Stanley Cup threat for the foreseeable future and beyond.

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 29: Carolina Hurricanes Left Wing Jack Drury (18) skates during the second period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes on November 29, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

Alexander Nikishin

There might not be a hotter prospect right now than Alex Nikishin. Drafted 69th overall in 2020, the defender was coming off of his first season in the KHL, playing a solid defensive game with some flashes of two-way potential. That became the expectation for Nikishin, until this season. Sticking in the KHL with a new team, SKA St. Petersburg, the Russian exploded in the regular season, putting up a massive 55 points in 65 games. He finished sitting third-all-time in points in a season from a defender and setting the record for a U20 defender. His strength is arguably his biggest strength. From his heavy shot to his physicality, opponents know when he’s on the ice. Despite the high-scoring totals this season, don’t bet on him being overly offensive in the NHL. He likely falls into a solid two-way role, potentially even leaning more defensively. Canes fans will need to be patient though, as he’s signed through 2024-25 in Russia.

2. Jack Drury

It’s been a long road for Jack Drury, after being selected way back in 2018, 42nd overall. When the Hurricanes selected him, he was coming off a solid season as the captain of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks, being named to the Second All-Star Team. He’s seemed to get even better since then though. He first joined Harvard University for two seasons, being named to All-Star teams in both seasons while winning a World Juniors silver medal in there too. In the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, he headed to Sweden and played in the SHL, winning a league championship. Since then, he’s signed with the Canes, mainly playing in the AHL. He’s not going to rack up the points in the NHL, but he looks like he should become a player that can plug in anywhere in the lineup and perform. He likely graduates in the very near future.

3. Scott Morrow

It’s not too often that you can nab a truly high-end prospect out of high school, but so far, it looks like that’s exactly what the Hurricanes did when they selected Scott Morrow 40th overall in 2021. The mobile defender had a very strong career with Shattuck leading up to his draft year, showing off his ability to move the puck with either his feet or his stick. Post-draft, he’s joined the University of Massachusetts where he continues to thrive. In his first season, he helped the team to a Hockey East Championship, while being named a First Team All-Stay, All-American, and All-Rookie. He’s so strong in transition, using directional changes and his edges to create entries and ultimately, chances. His defensive game has been a concern since his draft year, drifting out of position and getting caught when he takes risks. Further development is needed, but the potential for him to be a highly offensive, top-four defender is very real.

4. Ville Koivunen

Another second-round selection from 2021, the Hurricanes selected Ville Koivunen 51st overall out of the U20 SM-sarja, where he was Rookie of the Year. It turns out it was also his only year in the league, jumping to the Liiga where he’s spent the last two campaigns. He led all rookies in assists (18) and points (29) in his first year while dressing for Team Finland at the World Juniors both years as well, helping them to a silver medal in the 2022 edition. Koivunen is a very promising winger, who leans more toward a playmaker thanks to his excellent vision and accurate passing. He can bury the puck as well though. He has a talent for finding open space, both for himself and his teammates. He didn’t really take a step forward in his development this season, and he’s not the most defensive forward out there, but he’s still young. His ceiling looks to be a contributing middle-six winger.

5. Aleksi Heimosalmi

The Hurricanes have shown a lot of love towards Finish players in recent years, and Aleksi Heimosalmi is another one to add to the list. The defender is on the smaller size at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but he has an excellent skating stride and strong four-way mobility. After being drafted 44th overall in 2021. he’s remained in Finland, spending the last two seasons with Assat in the Liiga. After being a big riser in his draft year thanks to his movement, especially with the puck on his stick, he hasn’t found his groove in the Liiga. He has taken a small step forward each year, but he’s not continuing that steep rise that was seen in 2020-21. As seen in his draft year, his decision-making can still be a cause for concern and his strength is a definite area of improvement. He is already signed by the Hurricanes, so it will be interesting to see how the team handles his development. Whichever route, be patient with him.

6. Ryan Suzuki

Ryan Suzuki has had a rough path since being drafted 28th overall in 2019. On top of the impacts of the pandemic, he’s had a long list of injuries, including a high stick to the eye that left him with a permanent blind spot. Still, he’s playing in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, already in his third season with the team. Granted, he played just 26 and 34 games in the previous two campaigns. If he can remain healthy, he’s a very promising prospect. He’s a line driver, consistently pushing the pace and leading his team to scoring opportunities. He has great hands, with highlight-reel abilities when one-on-one with defenders. The ceiling for Suzuki has lowered since his draft day, but there’s still a clear route to the NHL for him. Instead of a potential top-six, he looks more like a middle-six/bottom-nine player though. His NHL debut doesn’t seem that far off at this point.

7. Vasily Ponomarev

It’s been an interesting path for Vasili Ponomaryov. The centreman started his playing career in Russia before heading to the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes for two seasons. He then went back to Russia in 2021-22, seeing time in the MHL, VHL, and KHL, while already signed by the Hurricanes. After the Russian seasons ended, he made the jump to the AHL, looking very comfortable and strong to end the season, even helping the team to a Calder Cup Championship. He continues to look comfortable in the AHL this season, showing off two-way skill and all-around offensive ability. Ponomarev isn’t going to wow or dazzle with his skill, but he’s consistent and seems to do all the little things right. Those are the exact type of players needed to fill out a roster. He’s not likely to be a star at the next level but could be a reliable forward to move up and down the lineup.

8. Jamieson Rees

After a strong OHL career with the Sarnia Sting and hearing his name called 44th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Jamieson Rees made the jump to the AHL in 2020-21. The forward fit in very well at the next level, a sign of things to come. His second season saw some slight regression though, although he was a contributor to the team winning the AHL Championship. This season, he seems to have bounced back and is having a very good campaign. Rees is a player that you can’t help but notice. He’s a highly competitive, highly energetic player that seems to be involved in every puck battle when he’s on the ice. He has the skill to back up his tenacious play as well, especially in his puck handling. There are still some kinks to work out in regards to his decision-making, but it does seem like all the pieces are there for him to be a contributing NHLer in the near future.

9. Noel Gunler

Ever since his DY-1 season, Noel Gunler has been a polarizing prospect that no one can agree on. Coming up with Sweden’s Lulea, he got a taste of the SHL in 2018-19 before becoming a consistent SHLer in 2019-20. He showed enough for the Hurricanes to select him 41st overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He continued in the SHL for two seasons and at the end of the 2021-22 SHL season, he signed with the Hurricanes. He headed to the AHL where he’s been fine, but not particularly standing out in the way that he has the potential to. Gunler has so much skill, from his elite shot to his excellent hands. But his work ethic, skating, and defensive game have been points of concern, however valid, since he was garnering attention. The Hurricanes are an excellent team at developing prospects, so expect them to be patient with Gunler and for them to find a way for him to reach his potential.

10. Gleb Trikozov

A recent draft pick selected 60th overall in 2022, Gleb Trikozov could very well be the most exciting forward prospect in the Hurricanes system. His time has been split this season between the MHL and the VHL, playing over a point per game in the MHL. He is very strong at finding open ice for himself, utilizing his edges to create space and his puckhandling to navigate traffic. He’s a dual, offensive threat as he has a great shot that’s well-balanced with his passing ability. His commitment to both sides of the puck does need work, as the effort he shows offensively isn’t always there in his own end. If he can work on his off-puck play, the ceiling is high for Trikozov. He’s well on his way to being a bottom-nine forward, but he will have lots of development time before that time comes.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – CAROLINA HURRICANES – Top 20 Prospects

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 16:07:00 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 28: Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) against the New York Rangers during Game 6 of round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on May 28, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

1 - Pyotr Kochetkov G

It was quite the whirlwind year for Kochetkov, a former second round pick of the Hurricanes. He started the year in the KHL, where he performed well. Then he came over to North America in March to play in the AHL…where he performed well. This was followed by the necessity of Kochetkov being thrown into a handful of starts in the NHL playoffs for Carolina due to injuries to both Freddie Andersen and Antti Raanta. Lastly, his season culminated with a reassignment to AHL Chicago (after the Hurricanes were eliminated) where he helped the Wolves capture a Calder Cup. Not too shabby for a pro debut in North America. Kochetkov has proven to be so successful thus far because of his quickness and aggressiveness in the crease. A highly agile netminder, he can afford to cut down angles aggressively because he recovers so well moving post to post and front to back. Of course, NHL goaltending coaches (like Carolina’s Jason Muzzatti) will work to refine Kochetkov’s movement to make him a little quieter in the crease. However, he definitely has the make-up and resume of a topflight goaltending prospect, something that is reflected in our prospect rankings. As of right now, Kochetkov is projected to start the season in the AHL as Chicago’s starting netminder because both Andersen and Raanta have recovered from their knee injuries. A full year as a starter in North America will be great for his development. With the two goalies ahead of him set to become UFA’s after this coming season, it seems likely that Kochetkov is being groomed for an NHL position in 2023-24. - BO

2 - Scott Morrow D

To a certain extent, Scott Morrow’s freshman season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst was a success. He was the team’s second-highest scorer and flashed the sort of offensive talent that isn’t commonly seen in defensemen, let alone defensemen who fall to the second round of the NHL draft. Morrow is a creative problem-solver in the offensive zone, acting with decisiveness and conviction when he has a chance in mind that he wants to create. For someone of his size (six-foot-two-, 195 pounds) Morrow moves very well and has definite upside as a transition defenseman in the NHL. He can deftly sift his way through traffic to facilitate zone entries, and the way he uses his big frame to protect the puck while he’s carrying it through the neutral zone is absolutely notable. Morrow’s offensive game is strong enough that he has the upside to eventually become a power play quarterback in the NHL. But while the offensive side to Morrow’s game is quite promising and developed, it’s the defensive side of his game that could hold him back. Morrow isn’t a physical player yet, and his reads in the defensive zone need improvement. There’s a great canvas of tools for an NHL development staff to work with in improving Morrow’s all-around game, but he’ll need to possibly make sacrifices in his offense in order to get there. If he can make some adjustments to make his game more sustainable and well-rounded, Morrow can become an extremely impactful NHL defenseman. If he remains an aggressive, risk-taking offensive force, he’ll still get his NHL chances, and could become a power-play specialist at the next level if no defensive development occurs. - EH

3 - Jack Drury C

The son of former NHL’er Ted Drury, and the nephew of current New York Rangers General Manager Chris Drury, Jack was excellent in his first AHL season last year. He was among the rookie scoring leaders during the regular season and then took his game to another level in the playoffs, averaging over a point per game in helping the Wolves capture the Calder Cup. Drury was even rewarded with a brief NHL call up that saw him score in both contests, while playing key minutes on the penalty kill. At this point, he seems destined to be a long-time middle six player for the Hurricanes thanks to his well-rounded skill set. There really isn’t anything that Drury does not do well, and this gives him such great versatility as a player. His coaches can employ him in any situation. With several openings in their bottom six this coming year, it seems likely that he will be a full time NHL player. Carolina believes that someone like Drury can replace Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter internally and on a cheap entry level contract, helping them to alleviate any cap concerns that they might have. One has to wonder if the Hurricanes see Drury as a replacement for pending UFA Jordan Staal in a year’s time if he performs admirably this year. - BO

4 - Alexander Nikishin D

It’s amazing how much can change in just one year and Alexander Nikishin is a perfect example of it: on year ago, in August of 2021, the biggest concerns regarding the blueliner revolved around his cardiac abnormalities, which he had to overcome to be able to play regular hockey and have a chance to establish himself as a full-time KHL player, but he did all of that and much more. Over 2021-22, Nikishin has become the top young defenseman in the KHL and even earned himself an Olympic invitation, where he won a silver medal. In the offseason he was the main part of a blockbuster KHL trade in which the powerhouse SKA traded nine (nine!!!) player assets for him including some of their top prospects. For Hurricanes fans this trade had some negative side effects, as it was announced that Nikishin will not only earn notably more money now, but also will add one more year to his contract length, locking him to the KHL through the 2024/25 season. That said, he will be only 23 when he frees up and with the way he is developing we can expect him to become a reliable hard-hitting top-4 D with some nice attacking abilities including a hard shot and a solid first pass. Until then, playing for a top KHL contender would give Nikishin a chance to push his game to new heights. - VF

5 - Ryan Suzuki C

Luck has not been on Ryan Suzuki’s side since the Hurricanes selected him in the first round of the 2019 draft. The year after being drafted, Suzuki suffered a significant eye injury that has left him with a permanent blind spot in that injured eye. Then the pandemic happened, and Suzuki was thrust into the AHL in a limited role, rather than starring for the OHL in his final year of junior eligibility. Last season, injuries plagued him yet again, limiting him to only 34 games. This included him missing the entire Calder Cup playoffs. The younger brother of Montreal Canadiens young star Nick, 21-year-old Ryan is far too young to give up on as a serious NHL prospect. Ryan is actually a better skater than his older brother and he possesses the same kind of passing touch and sense in the offensive zone. Despite battling injuries, he has taken steps forward to become a better and more engaged player without the puck. That said, the younger Suzuki’s calling card will be his ability to play as a top six center who can make plays with the puck for his wingers and push the pace of play. Until he stays healthy and emerges as a top producer at the AHL level, he likely will not push for a spot on the Hurricanes. Patience will be key here for Carolina and their development staff. - BO

6 - Gleb Trikozov LW

Gleb Trikozov, selected No. 60 by the Carolina Hurricanes, had a remarkable second half of the season. He looked incredible in the MHL (Russia's 1st youth league) playoffs, helping his team make a deep run. A decent sized forward, Trikozov has an effective offensive game, good hockey sense and skill. His skating is great, and he uses it effectively, especially in assisting in zone entries for his team. His explosiveness with the puck is also excellent. Without the puck, Trikozov constantly applies pressure, but could stand to play a little more physically to help him secure turnovers. Offensively he is calm and patient. This helps him maintain possession deep into the offensive zone. Trikozov is also a strong shooter. He often moves to the right before he shoots; his size allows him to create separation from his opponent in two steps, creating a good shooting lane. He effectively finds free space in the offensive zone, reacting and adapting to the play smartly. Moving forward it will be about proving himself at the higher levels in Russia before making the jump to North America. Adding strength and improving his ability to utilize his teammates are key next steps. Look for him to split this year between the VHL, MHL, and KHL. - DB

7 - Alexander Perevalov - LW

The first half of Alexander Perevalov’s MHL season was one of the most dominant performances of his age at this level that have been witnessed in years and even though the second half of the season wasn’t as bright, it is still curious how or why he lasted until the third round of the 2022 draft. A right-handed left-wing sniper who needs just a bit of time and space to make goalies look just useless, Perevalov has clear top six upside, and the Hurricanes and their fans should be pleased to have him in the organization. It won’t be a smooth path for him though, as his Lokomotiv KHL organization is a strong one and is not expected to give him big role next season, so the realistic outcome that we can hope for him will be splitting time between the MHL junior league and a 13th forward role in the KHL. Short-term role aside, Perevalov’s abilities can allow him to be effective even in a limited role (especially if the inconsistency issues of the second half of the season are over) and, hopefully gradually earn him more trust and ice time. Perevalov’s KHL contract runs for two more seasons so it is a bit early to discuss the possibility of him crossing the pond at this point, but it is a likely eventuality if he will not be getting enough development opportunities at home. - VF

8 - Ville Koivunen LW

A 2021 draftee of the Carolina Hurricanes, Koivunen continues to be very slenderly built with his 162-pound frame but that didn’t stop him from spending this past winter excelling in the Finnish Liiga. In his draft year, Koivunen played for Kärpät’s U20 team and was named the circuit’s Rookie of the Year, earning a multi-year contract in the process. He already began paying that back in spades this year earning a regular spot among the club’s top nine and collecting himself 29 points, making him one of the pro league’s top rookies. After a 10-point effort at the U18 Worlds in 2021, Koivunen was quiet on the scoresheet in a checking line role for Finland at this summer’s WJC but is staring at a prime spot on a scoring line for this winter’s tournament. Talented as both a playmaker and finisher, Koivunen is a complimentary player who demonstrates a calm and collective game with strong hockey IQ. Adept with the puck, he avoids crumbling under pressure and makes it hard on opponents to separate him from the puck. Whereas continued practice and the addition of leg and lower body strength will surely have a very positive effect on his skating, he’s still a ways away from possessing the type of skating that would allow him to make effective use of his skills at the NHL level. Intensity and conditioning over 60 minutes will need to improve as well, but there’s plenty of time for the young winger. In light of the importance of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen for the Canes, it’s no wonder that the team enjoys success in selecting the few Finns is adds every couple of drafts. - CL

9 - Aleksi Heimosalmi D

A 2021 second round selection of the Carolina Hurricanes, Heimosalmi has continued in his development where he left off at the 2021 U18 Worlds, where he was named the tournament’s top defender thanks to his two goal, eight point effort over seven games. Although his role was often quite small, he spent this past season entirely in Liiga action, learning many of the nuances of professional play. Those lessons were on full display in this summer’s WJC as he put up a goal, seven points, and a +4 on his way to gaining a silver medal. There, he showed great edges, a strong command of the puck all along the blueline, and a keen ability to conduct productive transitions. His skating ability allows him to be highly effective in defending without having to overexert himself physically. The Hurricanes were all about accumulating bodies at the 2021 NHL draft, even moving back out of the first round to grab more darts in the second, where they selected Heimosalmi and fellow Finn Ville Koivunen. Both have continued to look like steals to date. For Heimosalmi, who is still under contract with Ässat, the key this season will be to take on more responsibility for his club team, ultimately exerting more of his exceptional talent along the opposition blueline. His fantastic skating and stickhandling will be his calling card moving forward, but he’ll need to continue adding strength every step of the way so as to avoid the kind of role he had last season. Having made 40 selections over the past four drafts, the Hurricanes have a stacked prospect bin and will happily give Heimosalmi all the time he needs. The hopes are high that he’ll one day be a prime transitional defenseman at the NHL level. – CL

10 - Noel Gunler RW

The 41^st overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, Noel Gunler has proven that the inconsistency and character issues that were looming over him on draft day do not affect his immense skill for the game. The Carolina Hurricanes were able to take a flyer on Gunler in the 2^nd round due to other teams’ concerns about those issues and it has already paid dividends as the forward finished 5^th in SHL scoring for players 21 and under. Gunler saw his role with Brynas decrease as the year went on finishing the year averaging 10-14 minutes of ice time while producing 23 points in 52 games. After his SHL season was over, the Hurricanes brought him over to North America where he finished off the year with the AHL Chicago Wolves. In his time with Chicago, Gunler netted 5 points in 11 regular season games before playing 10 playoff games. Gunler’s game is based off the immense skill he possesses, and he has the unique ability to find the soft areas of the ice when off the puck, often positioning himself in high-danger areas of the ice. When he is in those high-danger areas, he uses his goal scoring instincts and quick release to beat goaltenders. In order to take his game to the next level, Gunler could work on improving his first step and his east-west movement. He is expected to be at NHL training camp with the Hurricanes and will most likely end up playing top-six minutes for Chicago in the AHL. Gunler projects as a top-nine forward who can inject scoring into the lineup. – ZS

11 - Vasily Ponomarev

The energetic, playmaking center played most of the year on loan in Russia but returned to North America in time to help Chicago win a Calder Cup Championship.

12 - Joey Keane

In an odd turn of events, just as Keane was set to become a full time NHL defender, he signed a one year deal in the KHL. He was one of the better defenders in the AHL last year and Carolina will retain his rights.

13 – Ronan Seeley

The two-way defender with great mobility served as the captain of the Everett Silvertips of the WHL last season and recently helped Canada win the August World Juniors. His pro upside may be a bit of an unknown, but he does have pro qualities.

14 - Anttoni Honka

An undersized, but strong skating, offensive defender, Honka led Liiga in assists from the back-end last season and will make his North American pro debut this coming season.

15 - Vladimir Grudinin

We had Grudinin ranked quite high for the draft, so it was surprising to see him fall the way he did. An intelligent two-way defender, Grudinin will try to break in as a full time KHL player this season.

16 - Jamieson Rees

A high energy forward with an aggressive attacking mentality, Rees helped Chicago win an AHL Championship this year in a depth role. The Hurricanes will be looking for him to take on more offensive responsibility this coming season.

17 - Justin Robidas

The son of former NHL defender Stephane Robidas, Justin is an intelligent and pesky center who never backs down from a challenge despite his size limitations. He had a great year as captain of Val’d’or last season.

18 - Domenick Fensore

Fensore’s junior season at Boston University served as a breakout campaign for the small, but skilled defender. He will return for a senior year and serve as captain of the Terriers.

19 - Jackson Blake

Opting to play another year in the USHL this season with Chicago, Blake will make his NCAA debut this season with UND. The son of former NHL’er Jason Blake, Jackson plays a similar up-tempo game.

20 - Patrik Puistola

A sharpshooting winger with a shoot first mentality, Puistola is coming off of his best Liiga season to date with 16 goals. He will look to take another step forward this season in the Jukurit program.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – CAROLINA HURRICANES – NHL Player Profiles

Corey Sznajder – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 22:10:01 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 28: Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) against the New York Rangers during Game 6 of round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on May 28, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Sebastian Aho

The 24-year-old center has been Mr. Everything for the Hurricanes since joining the team back in 2016, leading the team in most statistical categories while producing at a point-per-game clip for the fourth year in a row. He has gone from the team’s best offensive player to their do-it-all player, frequently playing over 20 minutes a night and getting the matchups usually reserved for Jordan Staal. This includes heavy usage on the penalty kill, an area where he isn’t afraid to push for offense. He embodies Carolina’s tenacious playing style. Looking to pressure and forecheck first but will create if the opportunity presents itself. His explosive skating and great vision give him plenty chances to do this but his knack for goal-scoring is what sets him apart. Whether it’s from the bumper spot or in front of the net, Aho was a pain for goaltenders, potting a career high 37 goals with 13 of them coming on the power play. Game-breakers come in different packages and while Aho creates a lot in transition, most of his goal-scoring comes off “ugly” plays. He will always find a way to make space for himself off a cycle, get to a loose puck in the crease or get a decent one-time off from an awkward angle. This makes him the Hurricanes MVP when considering everything else he brings to the table.

Andrei Svechnikov

While passing the Michigan torch to Trevor Zegras, Svechnikov has emerged as one of the better playmakers in the league, although his assist total didn’t reflect that. Even after a 30-goal season, it felt like he left some offense on the table due to goalposts or poor finishing luck, both from him and his linemates. Creating offense has been so effortless for him since he came into the league and as he gets stronger, it’s been easy for him to get a step on defenders off the rush or winning a battle in front of the net. His underlying stats reflect this, as he is one of the best players in the league at creating scoring chances and high danger passes. It’s plausible to think there’s another level to Svechnikov’s game when taking this into account, especially with scoring increasing across the league. Right now, he’s in that upper echelon of players but inconsistent scoring along with his habit of taking countless undisciplined stick penalties keep him from the elite tier. He could easily be the best player on the Hurricanes by this time next year, as it only takes one stretch where everything clicks to break that glass ceiling.

Teuvo Teravainen

Sometimes good players benefit from playing in great situations and that was the case for Teravainen, scoring 9 power play goals from the right circle as PKs focused on Aho and getting plenty of lay-up scoring chances from Svechnikov. Primarily known as a playmaker and someone you’d have to beg to shoot the puck, Teravainen regained some of his goal-scoring touch and made the most of getting to play with some talented linemates. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for him, as he’s usually Aho’s wingman but his role is more about giving his linemates space, quick passes from the boards and great defensive positioning rather than highlight reel goals. As one of the smartest and longest tenured players on the team, Teravainen can probably excel in any role coach Brind’Amour puts him in. He might be leaned on for more goal-scoring now with Trocheck and Niederreiter going out the door and Pacioretty not available until February. Some of the extra offense they got from Teravainen came at the expense of his usually elite defensive play, which is a sacrifice the Hurricanes might be willing to make if they need him to be more than just the steady, complementary piece on the top line.

Max Pacioretty

When healthy, Pacioretty is exactly what the Hurricanes needed in the playoffs. A winger who can give them an “easy” goal while being a fit for the team’s forechecking system. Unfortunately, they won’t have him in their lineup for the first four months of the season, as he will be recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. This is after a season where he was limited to only 39 games after a foot injury in October and wrist surgery in December. Scoring only seven goals in the 22 games after surgery, it’s fair to wonder if he is still has the power behind his shot that made him such a coveted goal-scorer. Not that players haven’t recovered from injuries before, but the Hurricanes will only have Pacioretty for this season and need an immediate impact out of him. We saw him adjust after the injury, scoring most of his goals from close range or off deflections instead of the perimeter and finding sneaky ways to get himself open. Carolina was a perfect match for him on paper, as they’re a team that dominates the territorial play and needs more finish. Pacioretty should give that to them in theory, but they will need to wait awhile before seeing it in action.

Jordan Staal

Now in his mid-30’s, Staal got off to the slowest start of his career, tallying only two goals and 11 points through the first 41 games. His size and strength kept him high in the lineup, but the lack of offense was a genuine concern for the Canes captain. Then the switch flipped in the second half of the year and the went on a mini tear, scoring 15 goals in his final 37 games and finishing with a respectable scoring line. Staal does so much for the team as their top defensive center that any offense he produces is just gravy, but those who have watched him for awhile knew it was a matter of time before the dam broke for him. His line with Nino Niederreiter and Jesper Fast was very important for the Hurricanes if they needed a good shift after a goal or when they got hemmed in. The approach was very basic, get below the goal line and go to work, but it was the team’s identity and eventually Staal got some reward for it. Niederreiter leaving might be a big hit to Staal’s goal-production, but the Hurricanes have enough worker bee type wingers that they should be able to find a good running mate for him this year. Hopefully the offense will be a little more consistent.

Seth Jarvis

It was impressive how seamlessly Jarvis fit into the Hurricanes lineup. Not seeing his first game until Halloween, it was obvious from the get-go that he wasn’t going back to the WHL anytime soon. His speed and insane lower body strength made him a fit on the fourth line and he quickly earned a promotion to the top-six. Fitting in as a player who could bring a high-motor element to Aho’s line for quick-strike offense and as a grinder who could get Aho or Svechnikov the puck from below the dots or vice versa. Being a right-shot wing also helped, as it was easier for him to receive some of Aho’s passes in the slot or off give-and-go’s in the neutral zone. Combine that with the pace he plays at and Jarvis was exactly what the team needed heading into last year and someone they could heavily rely on for offense next year. Only 20 years old, he should be trending upwards but there is going to be more pressure on him to produce with some of the roster departures. Jarvis was arguably the team’s best forward in the playoffs, which is a great sign if the Hurricanes want him to be a core player going forward.

Martin Necas

One year ago, Necas looked like an emerging star. The way he processed the game was so different from everyone else on the team, creating offense out of nothing and pulling the Hurricanes back into games on his own. He had his flaws, but they were the kind you live with because he looked like the type of player who could shift the momentum on a dime. Unfortunately, this didn’t carry over. Offense didn’t come as easy for Necas and he found himself trying to do too much on his own, leading to a lot of missed plays and prolonged scoring droughts. The talent is still there, he is one of the Hurricanes best players at setting up shots, but he had trouble when no passing options were available, and he had to take the puck to the net on his own. He would circle the net or get caught in between passing and shooting, leading to missed chances or him shoveling the puck on goal from an awkward angle. Quicker decision making is required with the Hurricanes, but the cerebral nature of Necas’ game is what makes him a special talent and you don’t want to take that away. He had a good season and was a big part of Carolina’s aggressive penalty kill, but there is another level to his game that Carolina will have to unlock.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Carolina’s decision to offer-sheet Kotkaniemi and treat him as if he’s an older prospect was a little confusing. The 22-year-old spent most of last season on the fourth line and only saw an increased role in short spells. The decision to sign him to a seven-year contract is a steep bet, making him part of the team’s core going forward. His first year with Carolina was solid, but there is always an asterisk when you’re projecting someone who played fourth line minutes to jump into a 2C role. He played good minutes in Montreal, but some similar issues remain. He has one of the best shots on the team, but it takes an extra second for him to release it and will opt for the simple play more times than not. Most of his offense was off long cycles where the team was already setup in the offensive zone and while he made some progress there, it was against a lot of depth defensemen and checking line players. Some players can make the jump to the top-six seamlessly and Kotkaniemi will be setup to succeed with Carolina’s great depth on the wings. It might work in his favor, as he will have some more space to create instead of having to constantly fight off checks on the fourth line. He will also be tasked with carrying more of a workload in transition and the defensive zone, something he can do but didn’t have much of a role in last year. The former third overall pick might not live up to his draft status, but he has shown signs of becoming a good middle-six center, which is what the Hurricanes are paying him to be, if he can make the ice-time jump.

Jesper Fast

Someone is going to have to pick up the slack with Carolina’s offense and a dark horse candidate for that is Jesper Fast. He was quietly one of the team’s better 5v5 goal-scorers last year, recording a career-high 14 goals most of which coming while standing in front of the net after Nino Niederreiter or Jordan Staal won a puck below the goal-line. A responsible defensive forward, Fast has shown some offensive flashes in the past and the defined role on Jordan Staal’s line worked to his favor. Most of his game is based on positioning and making quick plays to help with breakouts and being a disruptive force on the forecheck, but he got to show some of his skill last year. Having some offensive pop on top of posting some of the best underlying numbers on the team is never a bad thing. It’s tough to say if his goal-scoring ways will continue last year, as he lost a key linemate in Nino Niederreiter. That said, he should continue to be a key part of the Canes third line. He could see some second power play unit time, as he played the netfront role in the past.

DEFENSE

Brent Burns

Everyone knows what they’re getting with Brent Burns, so the two questions heading into this year are how much he will play and how will switching teams effect his point total. The big change with him over the last two years is that his shot volume totals have plummeted, which in turn hurt his counting stats. Burns production has declined along with the Sharks play and now he’s going to a team notorious for spending most of the game in the offensive zone. Logic suggests that Burns will see a bit of a return to form, as his puck skills haven’t declined as much as his point totals suggest. Burns was still one of the better blue-liners in the league at setting up scoring chances, creating offense off the rush and exiting the zone. The only thing that has been missing is the shot volume and ability to command the offensive zone like he did in the Sharks heyday. Will that change with the Hurricanes and their strong forecheck, or will it be similar to last year with the Sharks as the Canes have seen some of their forward talent leave via free agency? It will be interesting to see this work in action. He brings a similar profile to what they had in both Dougie Hamilton and Tony DeAngelo but is much older with two careers worth of ice-time on his tires.

Jaccob Slavin

The modern-day shutdown defenseman, Slavin is the type of player who could put up zero points and still have a positive impact. There are few players in the league who are as good at skating forwards into a corner or using their stick as him. He also covers a ton of ground in the defensive zone, disrupting most plays before they even start and quickly getting the puck out of the zone to relieve pressure. He was tasked with more of an offensive role last year with Tony DeAngelo as his partner. He ended up having a career year in points and showed some real upside there, especially with shooting for deflections and making soft passes to the front of the net from the left point. It was the most growth he has shown in that part of the game, at least at even strength, running the power play is something he hasn’t quite figured out yet. While he didn’t play pure shutdown minutes, Slavin still played 23-25 minutes a night and was the Jenga piece for Carolina’s blue line. If he had an off night, it was usually bad news for the Canes. Those were few and far between though as he had a stellar season and adapted to playing in more offensive situations. This should continue next year with the roving Brent Burns projected to be his defense partner.

Brett Pesce

Looking at Brett Pesce’s profile and watching him play is quite the contrast. He’s tall but not towering, has a good frame but isn’t physically intimidating. His shot isn’t very powerful, a great skater with good edges but not a burner like Cale Makar. He looks like someone who would top out as a depth defenseman at the NHL level, but he is one of the better shutdown defenders in the league. Playing a pure defensive role with Brady Skjei for the past two years has been up-and-down for him. He can still break-up plays at the blue line better than most and can skate his way out of pressure. His defensive impact, however, usually varies depending on who he is paired with. A predictable partner like Slavin or Calvin de Haan will yield good results for him while a more aggressive, roaming partner like Skjei or Edmundson will leave him covering for more mistakes and sometimes it’s too much for him to handle. This was the case for him at times last year, but history suggests that he will rebound and return to the reliable defender he was for most of his career. A down year for him is a good year for most in the league.

Brady Skjei

2021-22 was a revival for Skjei and it came out of nowhere. After seemingly topping out as a low-end 4/5 defenseman, he had a career year offensively and posted some of his best underlying stats since his rookie year. All awhile playing a tough shutdown role with Brett Pesce. The Hurricanes have done well to make the game easier for Skjei, giving him the greenlight to join the rush and allowing him to stand up at the line with Pesce or a forward backing him up if he gets beat. His size and skating were always going to be his calling cards and translating it to game situations was the challenge. This started to come around last year, he had a career season offensively and looked like a threat to score instead of someone who would spam low percentage shots from the boards. The high-risk nature of his game is still an issue, but it's something the Hurricanes are more content with now that they’re seeing the rewards. It gives the Hurricanes second pair a different look even though their primary job is shutting down top lines. Skjei’s aggressive nature and playing style was a big part of that with how often he would pinch to keep pucks in, push for offense or quickly re-enter the zone after a long shift. He had 39 points with zero power play time last year, so he could challenge for a spot on the second unit if Slavin continues to struggle there.

GOALTENDING

Frederik Andersen

When Carolina opted to jettison all their existing goaltenders in favor of a pair of over-thirty veterans with lengthy injury histories, it seemed hard to put big money down in favor of a successful Hurricanes year; after all, it would only take one ill-timed pair of injuries to both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta for the team to find themselves out in the wind with the playoffs on the line.

Luckily, the gamble worked out in their favor – and while neither vet had been willing to sign on a year-by-year basis, Andersen’s year was impressive enough to feel comfortable with him coming back for yet another season with the Metropolitan Division club. At 32-years old, Andersen .922 unadjusted save percentage and four shutouts were good for a whopping 35 team wins and the goaltender’s best statistical season since his rookie year. Very few goaltenders are able to do a complete one-eighty after struggling as hard as Andersen did during his final year in Toronto – but whatever Carolina did clearly worked. After a year of watching the Danish netminder struggle to accurately read shot rebounds and recover comfortably in order to face second shots, Andersen’s sharp instincts looked good as new during the 2021-22 season. He didn’t change much about his core style – he remained a goaltender who seems most comfortable pushing forward into shots and holding down the fort with clear sightlines instead of asking his defense to crowd his crease, with a preference for cutting down open space instead of waiting out shooters. But instead of fighting against the defensive system in front of him, which he seemed to be almost forced to do during his tenure in Toronto, he was able to play to his strengths with the Hurricanes and hit his stride. His only negative was the lack of consistency he posted; despite having some of the league’s best numbers, his quality start percentage sat just a hair above the average. But as long as he’s able to truly split the net with tandem partner Antti Raanta, which should prevent the more-consistent Finnish veteran from suffering more injuries, that shouldn’t be a big enough problem to hurt the Hurricanes in their push to hit the Stanley Cup Final.

Projected starts: 45-50

Antti Raanta

After nearly a decade in the NHL, it seems fair to say that Antti Raanta is a known entity in net. The 33-year-old former Blackhawks, Rangers, and Coyotes backstop remains one of the NHL’s most reliable goaltenders from a performance standpoint – so long as you don’t need him to hold down the fort entirely on his own for lengthy periods of time. Even when playing a true tandem with Frederik Andersen, Raanta suffered a slew of minor injuries that kept him out of games and left Andersen to man the pipes without him.

As Carolina seems to have figured out, though, Raanta still provides incredible value in a tandem situation. He didn’t put up quite the same level save percentage that Andersen did during his 28 regular season games with the Hurricanes, but that was more a byproduct of his consistency than it was a problem with his quality of performance. His quality start percentage matched Andersen’s nearly perfectly, and he only posted one start that classified as a Really Bad Start using Rob Vollman’s metric (which calculates the percentage of starts a goaltender actively inhibits his team’s chance of winning a game, recording a save percentage below 85%). In comparison, Andersen – who played in just under double the number of games Raanta did – posted five Really Bad Starts; while Andersen clearly posted higher highs than Raanta, he also posted lower lows. That’s a benefit of the structured, utilitarian style that Raanta plays; despite being one of the smallest goaltenders in the league, he keeps his skates within the blue paint and relies on patience to goad shooters into showing their hands before he drops to his knees. He lacks some of the high-end speed and lower body power that would likely push him into elite territory, particularly now that he’s so prone to lower-body bumps and bruises. But despite a game that doesn’t particularly challenge the Andrei Vasilevskiys and Igor Shesterkins of the league, his baseline remains incredibly strong – and best of all, he knows exactly what he is and what he’s capable of. Raanta’s spatial awareness sits among some of the best in the league, which gives him enough of an advantage to allow him to slow his game down a bit to ease up on his hips and groin. He may not be a sure bet as a reliable split-share netminder anymore, but he’s unlikely to hurt Carolina much, either.

Projected starts: 35-40

2021-22 TOP 15 PROSPECTS: CAROLINA HURRICANES – RANK: #14 – TIER III

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 15:28:03 +0000

Carolina Hurricanes

#14 Carolina - Carolina has drafted for quantity as much as quality over teh last few seasons, and their system reflects that, lacking too many top flight guys, but going very long on that next tier.

Seth Jarvis. Photo by Keith Dwiggins/Portland Winterhawks

Seth Jarvis - RW

To say Jarvis’ AHL debut was a success would be an understatement. With the pandemic allowing underage players to participate in a few pro games last season, Jarvis made the most of his opportunity, posting seven goals and 11 points in just nine games for the Chicago Wolves. He led the league in scoring at the moment in time when he was sent back to Portland to finish the season in the WHL. There he added 27 more points in 24 games to close out an extremely successful draft-plus-one campaign.

Jarvis is a supremely talented player with electrifying skills. His skating and stickhandling make him a force in the neutral zone, creating turnovers and leading the rush the other way. In the offensive zone, Jarvis attacks with pace and is able to execute at top speed. He sees the ice well and is a creative playmaker but can also finish with precision in a variety of ways. He displayed a keen sense of time and space at the faster AHL pace and adapted well. Ineligible for the AHL this upcoming season, the odds are the Hurricanes will send Jarvis back to Portland for a final junior season, as they generally like to let their prospects over-ripen. However, one could argue that Jarvis has nothing left to prove at the junior level and excelled playing against men last season already. His ability to play wing or center could see him earn a spot in the NHL in 2021-22 with a strong training camp. - AS

Dominik Bokk - RW

Currently 21-years-old, Dominik Bokk is a former 1st rounder of the St. Louis Blues who was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes in the deal that sent defenseman Justin Faulk to St. Louis. Entering the 20-21 season, Bokk had parts of three SHL seasons - including two full seasons - under his belt, having peaked to date with 23 points for Rögle BK in the 18-19 season. A strong WJC with six goals as well as an uptick in his SHL goalscoring from eight to 11 took place in the 19-20 season, but this year began in a manner that quickly had him in limbo. Surprisingly scheduled to play for DEL bottom feeder Krefeld heading into the season, the delayed DEL start led to Bokk looking for greener pastures, landing once again in Sweden and admittedly with his third SHL organization, Djurgarden.

A team desperate for offense at the time of his arrival, the Stockholmers lived through 20 games of Bokk’s most ineffective play as a professional. Known for his fantastic mitts, some shake-n-bake moves, and a strong ability to find teammates in scoring positions, Book couldn’t muster up more than his three points despite being given a prime opportunity on a scoring line upon his arrival. Carolina brought him over to the AHL once the league got going and it proved to be the breath of fresh air that Bokk so desperately needed. Suiting up for 29 games with the Chicago Wolves, Bokk's first sojourn to North America saw him rack up nine goals and 18 points, most over the second half of his AHL season, finding a real groove while learning what challenges await him as part of a Carolina system that is generally stacked with forward prospects. The key is that he has gotten acclimated and was able to make some noise. Carolina will be needing to look for some affordable, extra scoring on the wings over the next few seasons and one of those could be Bokk. - CL

Ryan Suzuki - C

All things considered; it was a very successful season for the former Hurricanes first round pick. After helping Canada win silver at the World Junior Championships, Suzuki joined the Chicago Wolves of the AHL with the OHL on hiatus. With Chicago, Suzuki was very productive and impressive in a bottom six role for the Wolves, his first taste of pro action. The younger brother of Montreal’s Nick Suzuki, Ryan appears well on track to be an NHL player.

The two areas of Ryan’s game that needed to be improved upon to find success at the pro level definitely improved this season. The first would be his assertiveness and aggressiveness with the puck, showing a willingness to attack the middle and play through contact. The second would be his confidence in using his shot and being more deliberate with the puck. By improving these two areas, Suzuki was able to be a more consistent and reliable offensive player and it improves his odds of becoming a high-end middle six forward at the NHL level. He will need to continue to get stronger and quicker, however he will get the opportunity to return to Chicago this upcoming season, where he will take on a larger role and show that he can be an offensive leader in the AHL before moving on to the next challenge at the NHL level. - BO

Noel Gunler - RW

After not getting much ice time with his hometown team Lulea HF, Gunler was traded to Brynäs IF in the first months of the 2020-21 season. His role significantly improved after the move, as he was getting more Top six and power play minutes. He was given a chance in 32 Swedish Hockey League games, and his production was alright for a 19-year-old: eight goals and five assists, a total of 13 points.

The Swedish winger is a skilled shooter, he proved his abilities in both SHL and the World Junior Championships (four goals in five matches). He still projects as a second-line forward, due to his awesome shot, size (6-2”), physicality and overall offensive abilities. His PPG was the 3^rd highest behind two Top seven 2020 NHL Draft picks, Alexander Holtz and Lucas Raymond, out of all D+1 SHL players. A pre-draft consensus 1^st round candidate himself, he has the potential to become one of the steals of last year's draft. He was surprisingly taken in the second round (41^st overall) by the Hurricanes. Gunler is expected to start the next season with Brynäs, which is a really good move. The 19-year-old needs to spend more time with the pros, working on his weaknesses (his play without the puck, consistency issues) and after improving his production, he should find his way to North America. - MD

Ville Koivunen - LW

A winger who has not been receiving near the amount of respect he is deserving of, Koivunen parlayed a U20 season this year into a league Rookie of the Year award and a three-year extension with Karpat’s main club. His reputation as an offensive weapon was only strengthened with a 10-point performance at the U18 championships. Koivunen brings a combination of puck skills and hockey sense that should allow him to continue performing at a top six clip as he moves into the men’s leagues on a full-time basis this year. For those reasons, he was a terrific second round selection by Carolina this year.

Equally talented in a set-up capacity or as a finisher, Koivunen plays off of his linemates well, and demonstrates very mature poise on the puck, regardless of the level of pressure being placed on him by the defense. His skating will need some real improvement before he can be considered NHL-ready, which considers technique, leg strength, and just the stamina/drive to keep his feet moving and prevent splaying throughout the entirety of the shift. All of the impact tools are here for a future top six winger, with relatively small tweaks standing in the way of success. - McKeen’s Draft Guide 2021

Jamieson Rees - C

A highly competitive, yet skilled forward, Rees’ development has gone very well since being drafted by the Hurricanes in the second round of the 2019 Draft. Even with the OHL on hiatus this past season, Rees was able to carve out a significant role on the Chicago Wolves in the AHL as an underage player (playing on an exemption). Rees (and Ryan Suzuki, for that matter), brought energy, tenaciousness, and offensive production in a checking line role on a very strong Wolves team.

Rees is most electric and dangerous in transition, where he can use his speed to push the pace. However, he loves to drive the middle and crash the net; playing the pest role is something he seems to really enjoy. While Rees has the individual puck skill and creativity to consistently create chances, he is equally adept at finishing off plays and finding open space in the slot to use his high end shot release. A well-rounded player, it seems likely that Rees should at least be able to carve out a long career as a versatile and valuable third line forward. However, he will need to learn to play with more discipline as the penalty issues that plagued him in the OHL were also an issue in his first pro season. Look for Rees to play another full season in the AHL before pushing for playing time in Carolina. - BO

Pyotr Kochetkov - G

Looking back at Kochetkov's season it started very hopefully, as he was given a full-time backup roster spot (with the possibility to prove himself as a potential starter too) at Vityaz KHL team, but unfortunately, he didn't use that opportunity very well. Additionally, at the same time, the team's third goalie had a breakout season, so it didn't take long until Kochetkov found himself not in the position to succeed anymore. A trade to the Torpedo team at the KHL deadline solved the situation a bit, as he was able to get himself some starts again, but still, that couldn't really save his season.

Kochetkov has signed with the Hurricanes but was immediately loaned back to Torpedo for the coming season. He will have to compete for his starts there again, as, judging by the roster situation in Torpedo, he won't be getting those handed to him. What he really needs to do next season to further his development (aside from winning as many starts as possible) is to work on his technique and consistency, as he is still a pretty raw goalie, which is worrying considering his age. In other words, the Canes goaltending coaching staff will need to address that and do their work to make him an NHL level goalie. - VF

Jack Drury - C

Ivy Leaguers typically stay in school for the full four years, or at least three, but the pandemic we are still living through has led to far stranger things than a talented player walking away from Harvard after only two seasons in uniform. A player who has always been able to contribute above the level of his disparate skills, Drury leveraged the global pandemic to leave school early, not to sign an NHL contract, but to sign for a season in Sweden with SHL Vaxjo, with whom he captured a league title, leading the team in scoring in the postseason to boot. Drury is the type that requires numerous viewings to truly appreciate, as none of his individual skills, on their own, stand out. He just gets the job done.

Carolina has a fairly deep organization, both at the NHL level and in the minors, so there is no reason to expect Drury to play in the NHL for any significant length of time in 2021-22. But with six of the centers either clearly above him or vying for NHL time with him looking at expiring contracts at the end of the upcoming season, Drury’s timeline to a strong NHL opportunity is relatively short. The lack of any one selling tool perhaps limits Drury to a middle six upside, but by this time, it would surprise roughly no one if he exceeded his tools yet again once he gets to the NHL. - RW

Joey Keane - D

An AHL All-Star as a rookie in 2019/20, Keane was rewarded midseason with a trade from the Rangers to the Hurricanes (in exchange for Julien Gauthier). In his first full season with the Canes organization, Keane continued to be an AHL stand out with the Checkers. This led to the reward of a cup of coffee with the Canes, allowing management to evaluate his future prospects with the organization.

The highlight of Keane’s game is his mobility. An elite level skater in all four directions, Keane always seems to be a step ahead of the competition. A tenacious physical player, Keane stands out in the defensive end, first and foremost, because of his ability to quell transitional attacks. Offensively, he will take his chances to lead and jump into the attack, given his quickness. However, his decision making is still called into question at times, leading some to believe that he may settle into more of a defensive role at the NHL level. Keane stands to receive a chance to be a full time third pairing defender next year if he has a strong camp and preseason as he will likely be competing with the recently acquired Ethan Bear for playing time. While his upside remains a bit of a question mark, his odds of becoming an NHL defender, in some capacity, seem good. - BO

Tuukka Tieksola - RW

Even though there was some disappointment over Tieksola not making the Finnish World Junior squad this year, he did experience a breakout performance in Liiga with Karpat. His 18 points in 37 games was the sixth best production by a U20 player in Liiga. The speedy and crafty winger turned this performance into a contract with the Hurricanes.

Tieksola’s game revolves around his quick feet and hands. Shifty and elusive in the offensive zone, he is great at finding soft spots in coverage. His top end speed can be an asset in transition too, and he has really dialed up his physical intensity level since being drafted to become a competent forechecker and boards player. Even with a contract in hand, the Hurricanes will be loaning Tieksola back to Finland for the year. He will rejoin Karpat and look to improve his production and establish himself as a go-to offensive player in Liiga. He projects as a middle six scoring option for Carolina but is probably still a few years off of reaching that potential. - BO

Aleksi Heimosalmi - D

A recent second round selection by Carolina, Heimosalmi was one of the breakout stars of this year’s World Under 18’s, earning the tournament’s top defender honor. Blessed with excellent skating ability, Heimosalmi is a dynamic puck mover, but he will look to improve his play in his own end as he becomes a Liiga regular this season with Assat.

Anttoni Honka - D

Since being drafted in 2019, Honka has done nothing but improve and is coming off of his best season yet in Liiga with JYP. The smooth skating offensive defender will return to Finland for another year and then should be ready to cross the pond and push for the Carolina roster.

Scott Morrow - D

Another recent second round selection, Morrow was billed as one of the 2021 draft’s best skaters. However, he has seen limited action above the prep school level and remains a long-term project, albeit one with high upside. Morrow will suit up for UMass this year, which has done a terrific job of developing defenders in recent years.

David Cotton - LW

Cotton had a very good first pro season with Charlotte after four very strong seasons at Boston College. The strong two-way center is someone who projects as a middle six forward for the Hurricanes and could see action as early as this year in Carolina.

Eetu Makiniemi - G

Fresh off his first full season as a starter in Liiga, Makiniemi has signed with Carolina and will head to North America to play in the AHL this year. He will compete to be the starter in Charlotte and has the package of size and athleticism that could make him a back-up at minimum in the future.