The 2023-24 NHL regular season is officially underway. Tuesday, Oct. 10, will see six teams play over three slates of games to kick off the season for the next nine months. The Carolina Hurricanes will have to wait one more night before they can start their campaign for the Stanley Cup in Season 26.
There had been some speculation going into the day before their first game of the regulation of who would make the opening night roster. Going into Tuesday, Oct. 10, it was unclear if Andrei Svechnikov would make the opening night roster. Unfortunately, during the morning skate, Svechnikov came out in his yellow no-contract jersey, indicating he would miss out on the season’s first game. While it would be great to have him back, it makes sense to ease Svechnikov back into the lineup because of getting knee surgery back in March.
Before the roster was announced, the Hurricanes did make a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, dealing defenseman Caleb Jones for forward Callahan Burke. Burke tallied 74 points in 160 career American Hockey League (AHL) games for the Colorado Eagles. He was mainly added as forward depth with injuries to Svechnikov, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Ryan Suzuki. Also, Burke will remain with the Eagles on a loan deal from Carolina.
Outside of the trade with the Avalanche, there was some good news, as the opening night roster was officially announced Tuesday afternoon. The roster that fans have been waiting to be released is finally here before the Hurricanes’ first game of the season versus the Ottawa Senators.
It Is Official: We Have an Opening Night Roster
As mentioned before, the Hurricanes released their opening night roster on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 10. The roster will consist of 12 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies. While Svechnikov was listed on the roster, he won’t be playing against the Senators to start the season. When taking a glance at the released roster, most of the names from the last preseason game made the final roster.
Related: Hurricanes’ Final Preseason Game Points to Opening Night Roster
For Hurricanes fans, it is exciting for them to see what the roster the team will put out on night one. Carolina is coming into the season with the deepest team it has ever assembled and one that hockey experts pick to win the Stanley Cup. Furthermore, this team is the first-ever Hurricanes squad to be the odds-on favorite coming into the regular season. From the forward core to the defense and even goaltending, this Hurricanes team has the best depth and talent in the league.
Despite Svechnikov starting the season on injured reserve, the Hurricanes roster has amazing depth at forward. Under head coach Rod Brind’Amour, it is a plug-in-play system where the team can put someone on the roster and just go. There is no slowing down when it comes to Carolina.
While Svechnikov will be out with the uncertainty of getting cleared, signs point to Teuvo Teravainen to replace him in the second-line left-wing spot. Teravainen will join fellow Finn Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Czechnia-born Martin Necas. It was reported by Cory Lavalette of The Athletic that Brind’Amour has not decided if the Hurricanes will go with 12 forwards and six defensemen or the 11-7 approach. Whatever formation of the roster Brind’Amour chooses, it will most likely come down to a game-time decision.
Possible Starting Lineup
While it is unclear what the lineup will look like, either as 12-6 or 11-7, it will work regardless because the Hurricanes are a fundamentally sound team that plays structured defense. However, if one had to choose, it makes more sense to go with the traditional 12 forwards and 6 defensemen lineup going into opening night. The projected lineup would probably look like this versus the Senators:
- Bunting – Aho – Jarvis
- Teravainen – Kotkaniemi – Necas
- Martinook – Staal – Fast
- Lemieux – Drury – Noesen
- Slavin – Burns
- Skeji – Pesce
- Orlov – DeAngelo
- Andersen
If the Hurricanes do go the 11-7 route, expect Brendan Lemieux to be a healthy scratch with Jalen Chatfield, while one of the left-wingers will get double-shifted. Either way, the Hurricanes will make it work. For the Hurricanes and fans, it is just good to see the opening night roster officially released and that the first game of the season is right around the corner.
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the quest for Lord Stanley begins at home in Raleigh. Will this be Carolina’s year? Only time will tell, but at least Hurricanes hockey is officially back.
