The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the favorites going into the 2023-24 NHL season. With a roster full of budding young talent, multiple major free-agent additions, and the best depth of any NHL team, this team is on the verge of collecting Lord Stanley. Whether it is openly gushing about the strength of the Hurricanes’ backend or appreciating the great players the Canes have among their forward core, there remain holes in the best of squads in this league. Those Hurricanes are not an exception.
Carolina is a team that has a lot of people backing them to go far in terms of winning the division and a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is one of the strongest rosters in the league. However, part of the beauty of the NHL under the salary cap is that every team has weaknesses. There’s not enough money for teams to properly address everything they need and fit it all under the salary cap. There’s no difference here with the Hurricanes. Like all rosters, the holes on this roster have cause for concern.
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Most people will suggest addressing these needs at the trade deadline. Part of why teams do this is because we have clarity as to which teams are competitive and who are already out of the running for the season. It also partly helps the teams’ cap situation due to the cap hits being diminished toward the deadline. This is because as a contract is paid through the season, the cap hits become prorated. It means players get paid less as the season goes on, and it helps teams dance around the ceiling for the salary cap. So, where will the Canes look to strengthen if the roster is the same as it is now?
A Stable Center
With Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal locked up this summer for the foreseeable future, joining Jesperi Kotkaniemi in Raleigh for the long term, the Hurricanes have a strong center punch. However, that final center spot is up for grabs still. Jack Drury has tried to stake a claim to the position during the tail end of last season, fighting with veterans Derek Stepan and Paul Stastny, but the Hurricanes are still looking for the perfect candidate to join the group down the middle.
Now, whether the team needs someone to complement the core they already have by playing in the bottom six or if the candidate they will be after should be someone who can play top-six ice time without a problem will be decided by Kotkaniemi. If Kotkaniemi can maintain the scoring pace that the Finn showed towards the end of last season when he caught fire, another bottom-six center should do the trick.
It would also be on brand for the Hurricanes to identify value in a target that most of us as outsiders would label as a player better suited to being used down the depth chart, only to see Carolina turn him into a significant piece of their roster. It’s happened time and time again for this organization because they seem to see value, where others don’t. While we could look at names like Elias Lindholm or Mikael Backlund, the Hurricanes seem to love doing things their own way.
Finishing the Wings
Perhaps the only other glaring issue on the roster is the final wing spot. Carolina’s flexibility on the wings is one of their roster’s extreme strengths. Players like Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Stefan Noesen, and Jordan Martinook can play on both wings, allowing for the extra flexibility the roster has. If the Hurricanes were then to make a move for a winger, it would negate the requirements of their preferred side. If we use the projected Hurricanes forward lines, it should ideally be someone who will slot onto that fourth line and provide some extra scoring threat.
As mentioned earlier, the Hurricanes love to try and find value in layers that others perhaps don’t see. Whether that is Jordan Martinook or Jesper Fast, finding players the team can use for less than their market value has been the teams’ philosophy since the change of ownership six seasons ago. This means that an ideal candidate may not be someone that we’re all thinking of right away. It might be someone who is still unsigned heading into the final week of September, or perhaps it’s one of the players already on Professional Tryouts, like Zach Aston-Reese.
In terms of those internal options, the Hurricanes added Brendan Lemieux to try and bring a little bit more sandpaper to the bottom six, but there are going to be concerns over whether or not he is going to produce enough to justify his place in the lineup. It’s probably the final position on the roster that needs to be addressed by general manager Don Waddell and the front office of the Carolina Hurricanes before the trade deadline later in the season.
Standing Pat is Likely Outcome
There’s a long time between now and the conclusion of the season, so we will see if the Hurricanes decide to do anything in the future. With time to fix things, the Hurricanes will probably adapt their traditional stance of “we like our group.” We know this organization is strongly against paying major prices to change roster pieces. If they find someone they can pick up for below market value and find something exceptional from a value standpoint, we know they will likely take that shot.
With the NHL trade deadline not until March, there will be six months for this organization to evaluate its potential targets, weigh up the cost of the acquisition, and determine whether or not it would make the team better. Any additions would likely be minor anyway due to how cost-adverse this organization has become over the years. However, that adversity to high prices has left the team with a good group of prospects to supplement its already excellent roster, which we could see more proof of if the Canes find an in-house option. Without an American Hockey League affiliate and only a working relationship with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL, that could be very difficult.
