While the Carolina Hurricanes season ended in disappointment, the team had a lot to be proud of. Now in the offseason, tough decisions will be made, and management will work to put the team in a place to succeed next season. In the meantime, we will take a look back at individual players’ seasons and see how they did. For the Carolina Hurricanes’ offseason grades, today we look at Dylan Coghlan.
Carolina Hurricanes Offseason Grade: Dylan Coghlan
Dylan Coghlan is a 25-year-old, right-handed defenceman who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Vegas Golden Knights. He is more of an offensive defenceman. Notably, he picked up the first hat trick by a rookie and a defenceman in Golden Knights history. While there was some promise for Coghlan, Vegas included him with Max Pacioretty in a trade to Carolina last offseason to offload Pacioretty’s contract. The move for Carolina was focused on bringing in Pacioretty for his goal-scoring, but acquiring Coghlan was a potential high-reward addition. As a cheaper defenceman with offensive upside, Carolina was getting a player who could provide depth and possible progress into a more permanent fixture down the road.
Dylan Coghlan’s Regular Season
Carolina’s third pairing started as a three-way battle between Coghlan, veteran Calvin de Haan and Jalen Chatfield. For the preseason, it was looking like Coghlan and Chatfield were going to be the winners. Coghlan had the second most points of any Hurricanes defenceman in the preseason with four in three games. He was skating well, blocking shots and was fourth in expected goals with 2.71. However, on opening night it was Chatfield and de Haan starting on the third defensive pairing.
Coghlan got into only 17 games this season. Over that span, he only amassed three points, all assists. He did lead all Hurricanes defencemen in Corsi, Fenwick and expected goals percentage. However, while his expected goal differential was six, his actual goal differential was a negative one. Coghlan served as an average option to step in whenever injuries occurred but did not really provide much more. He had moments that showed promise and the underlying numbers show that there is some potential there, but he otherwise had a quiet season. His last game was on March 14 against the Winnipeg Jets and he also did not suit up for the playoffs. He stood as the seventh defenceman for most of the season, and the eighth after Carolina acquired Shayne Gostisbehere.
The Verdict
In only his third NHL season, Coghlan’s year for Carolina was pretty quiet. He showed some moments of promise but overall only contributed in a depth role. He could still progress and become a solid bottom pairing defenceman for the Hurricanes. His offensive abilities could also give him some powerplay time as well. With cap space being a commodity, an affordable depth defenceman who can contribute offensively is a big asset. But Carolina would need a little more from Coghlan to get to that point.
Coghlan is now a restricted free agent this offseason. He should not require a high qualifying offer so Carolina may very likely retain him for another year. If management sees his upside as worth gambling on they may look to sign him for more than one year. Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Coghlan return at a minimum level deal.
Grade: C-
Check out the last Carolina Hurricanes off-season grades article!
Main Photo: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
