The Carolina Hurricanes had one of the most volatile offseasons in the NHL this year. At least as far as player turnover goes. (Not to mention their GM leaving with a new one taking the role for his first time.) It was tough for fans to see Carolina go out in the second round of the playoffs. It was even tougher to see that knowing that a lot of the team that had been a big part of their recent success would be gone after the season. That is the nature of it though. Guys play well and earn big contracts that cause movement.
Players like Teuvo Teravainen, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce and Stefan Noesen all moved on to other teams after spending years helping Carolina push for a Stanley Cup. During their tenure, Teravainen and Pesce especially helped the team go from bottom feeder to top tier. And this doesn’t even include trade deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel who was an instant success on the team but decided to move on. Or other trade deadline acquisition Evgeny Kuznetsov who decided to head back to Russia. But there could be some silver linings here.
The Silver Lining to Major Roster Shakeup
So yeah, it seemed like the final dance for that crew in Carolina. And it’s heartbreaking to see the band break up. Fans should prepare for a likely somewhat off year this year compared to years past, while hoping for more of a surprise. But while this offseason has been tough, there are some benefits to this shakeup.
Eric Tulsky’s Team
While Tulsky is not walking into the organization brand new, he is getting his first crack at being the one at the top after Tom Dundon. If there is ever a time for a new GM to take control of a team, it is when there is some opportunity to build the team how he wants. Yes, Tulsky indicated that he ideally wanted to keep all the guys who left around. But they simply were too costly (see below) or were perhaps looking for something else.
The deep core of the team is intact as Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jaccob Slavin are all signed for the forseeable future. Seth Jarvis should hopefully get a deal soon as should Martin Necas (unless there is a trade there). And then with younger players competing for roster spots that are now potentially available such as Felix Unger-Sorum, Bradly Nadeau, Jackson Blake and Scott Morrow, the future should be bright. You mix in some of the newcomers like Shayne Gostisbehere, William Carrier and Sean Walker on multi-year deals as well as Jack Roslovic, Eric Robinson, and Tyson Jost on one year deals for some depth in 2024-25 and you can see how Tulsky is molding a team.
They may not win the Metropolitan Division or go much further in the playoffs than years’ past this season, but this is his team building for what should be the very near future. Sometimes it just takes a bit of a tear down to rise up.
It Didn’t Work Before
Keep in mind in 2019 the team went to the Eastern Conference finals with a much weaker team on paper than the last few years. Lower expectations may allow for less pressure and in turn produce success. And even within that there is another realization that the last few years’ collective group did not actually lead to a Stanley Cup. It doesn’t mean they weren’t good or that they couldn’t if they stuck around a few more seasons. But it never happened.
At some point the idea that insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results have to play in. Were the Hurricanes quite at that point with the guys that walked? Maybe not. But the reality is that this was not like when the Chicago Blackhawks had to shed a few guys after they won the Cup in 2010 and 2013.
So now Tulsky goes back to the drawing board and looks at what he has that HAS worked well and uses the opportunity to tinker with the rest to make it a true Stanley Cup champion.
Cap Management
One piece that gets overlooked sometimes in free agency is the future impact of the transactions. And sometimes the near future. A free agent class market price is dictated by supply and demand. With a weaker class, each individual free agent should generally expect larger deals. Even Tulsky this offseason went so far to point out how many teams regret their decisions on July 1. Of course, sometimes the risk is worth the reward when teams need a big name or are in a position to make a serious Stanley Cup push. This is why the players mentioned above who walked from Carolina ended with larger and in some cases longer deals.
Tulsky Wheeling and Dealing
But Tulsky was able to make some pretty smart moves when it came to filling some holes for the current year and beyond. On the backend, Carolina took a big hit by losing both Pesce and Skjei. Even though they are different players stylistically and it’s hard to argue they are necessarily better than Pesce or Skjei, Gostisbehere and Walker are pretty solid pickups at lower prices and terms than either Skjei or Pesce. Each of these players are almost the same age as well.
Skjei took a 7×7 deal with the Nashville Predators while Pesce signed with New Jersey for six years with an AAV of $5.5 million. Walker came to Carolina on a five-year deal with an AAV of $3.6 million while Gostisbehere signed for three years at $3.2 million AAV. After Jalen Chatfield and Jack Drury re-signed at decent deals and Jaccob Slavin arguably took a pay cut to stick around long term, Gostisbehere and Walker are two good moves that provide increased cap flexibility. With other players looking to step in take roles soon (see below) and important RFAs to sign like Jarvis and Necas, these moves are going to prove very beneficial down the road.
Build from the Bottom Up
A big piece of this offseason that both Rod Brind’Amour and Eric Tulsky mentioned was how upcoming prospects and other younger players would likely get bigger opportunities on the team. Carolina has been a pretty good drafting team, especially when it comes to drafting in large volumes. But at some point these prospects need an opportunity to play or otherwise be moved. A silver lining to losing so many players is this potential opportunity.
Some pretty likely names on the list of prospects pushing for NHL roles this season include Scott Morrow, Jackson Blake, Bradly Nadeau, Felix Unger-Sorum and Ryan Suzuki. But you also could see current players like Necas and Jarvis taking on even bigger roles. Who knows, maybe Necas gets a crack at centre as well. This also doesn’t include the possibility that Carolina’s top prospect Alexander Nikishin comes over in 2025-26. Giving these guys an opportunity could turn to be beneficial in many ways. While it’s unlikely, you could see one or a few of these come in and blow the door down. If you can get good contributions from players on entry-level contracts, that could be huge when pushing near the cap ceiling.
Rod Brind’Amour Hanging Around
One of the biggest pieces of news that is important for Carolina this offseason is Rod Brind’Amour hanging around behind the bench. As many stated, had he walked free there certainly would have been a long list of suitors. There are many players who are cornerstones on the team and have contributed to their success the last six years. But arguably no single person may have had as big an impact as Brind’Amour. A prior Jack Adams winner with a record of 278-130-44 in six seasons, Brind’Amour has also managed to make the playoffs every year he has been a head coach. This is one huge reason why you can’t simply say Carolina has no chance this season.
On the other side, is Brind’Amour perfect? No, he’s not. Has he made some coaching decisions that many (including himself) could look back on and say it was a mistake? Sure. Maybe Evgeny Kuznetsov shouldn’t have been scratched in the second round of the playoffs last year. Maybe Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov should have kept rotating starts in net in the playoffs. But hindsight is 20/20 and Brind’Amour is the one that has to make a decision. Indecisiveness would be the worst and Brind’Amour has not seemed to show much of that.
Coaching is a complex job and very few can find success right away. Every year Brind’Amour improves with experience and some of that takes trial and error. It will be a big task for him this year, but he is a huge asset staying around. With all of the other changes, having this constant is as important as anything else moving forward.
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
