With all of the Carolina Hurricanes turnover this offseason, they lost some pretty big pieces that contributed in key areas. One is their firepower up front but another is their defence, especially in the middle pairing. But when one door closes, another opens. There should be opportunities for others to step up, including younger players and the newcomers that Eric Tulsky signed in the offseason. In our Puck Drop Preview we assessed some expectations for the Hurricanes this year, but let’s take a deeper dive into how the Hurricanes new look defence stacks up.
The Carolina Hurricanes Defence for 2024-25
Out: Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Tony DeAngelo, Dylan Coghlan
In: Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Walker, Scott Morrow, Riley Stillman
Returning: Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Dmitry Orlov, Jalen Chatfield
What Was Lost
Leaving Carolina are two defencemen who formed a very effective middle pairing for the last few years. Skjei and Pesce are different type players who worked together very well.
Brady Skjei
Skjei (age 30), is a left-shot defenceman who can skate very well and found a scoring touch the last two seasons. Last season, he put up a career best 47 points in 80 games. This included 12 points on the power play and four shorthanded. Rod Brind’Amour used him in all situations as he was a reliable two-way defenceman for Carolina. He had a 54.04 xG% with a 58.20 CF% at 5v5.
Brett Pesce
Meanwhile, Pesce is more of a defensive defenceman but a very good one at that. The right-handed defenceman is very effective at closing gaps and stopping the opposition. With a 54.77 xG% and a 58.36 CF% at 5v5, like Skjei, he was very effective at driving play in Carolina’s favour. While he had some power play time in years’ past, his strength laid in his effectiveness on the penalty kill. Injuries have been somewhat of a struggle for Pesce of late as he suited up for 70 regular season games last season and missed all but two playoff games. But his effectiveness defensively cannot be overlooked.
Further Depth
Tony DeAngelo too is out but his impact on the team last season was fairly minimal. A pure offensive defenceman, he came back to Carolina after a pretty good season two years prior. But this time he never found the same rhythm. Only playing 31 regular season games, his biggest time on ice was during the playoffs due to Pesce’s absence. He actually played pretty decent, but did not really move the needle too much for Carolina. Lasty, Dylan Coghlan showed some potential in a depth role, but he never got much of a shot in Carolina too.
What Was Gained
Tulsky made work to replace what was lost in both Skjei and Pesce this offseason. The big additions were Sean Walker and the return of Shayne Gostisbehere. Both were similar in age to Skjei and Pesce as well but came in at lower contracts. But Carolina’s new affiliation with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL also allows them to gain some depth that was more difficult last season. It also gives their prospects like Scott Morrow a steady place to develop.
Sean Walker
In Sean Walker, Carolina gets a good right-handed, puck moving defenceman. He showed last season a great ability to push the play and generate offensive chances from the back end. While not the biggest skater at 5’11”, last season Walker put up 29 points in 81 games. He finished with a good 55.80 xG% and a 54.18 CF% at 5v5. His goals for rating also exceeded his expected goals for by a touch over four. He spent some time on the power play but really found most his production at 5v5 play. Walker also spent time killing penalties and held his own defensively at 5v5 which can be a big help.
Sean Walker, signed 5x$3.6M by CAR, is a skilled offensive defenceman who can carry the puck and create scoring opportunities and goals. Did well at basically everything this season on PHI’s second pair. Concern would be size and if he can repeat this season. #LetsGoCanes pic.twitter.com/AxjYkOg7pE
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024
Shayne Gostisbehere
The other big incoming piece this offseason is Shayne Gostisbehere. This will be “Ghost’s” second stint in Carolina. He was a trade deadline pickup in 2023-24 and did very well. A left-handed defenceman who may be the most purely offensive defenceman on Carolina’s roster, Ghost will come in to not only move the puck at 5v5, but to quarterback the power play. He is a great skater with top-level passing abilities and a big shot that he loves to utilize. In 81 games last season with the Detroit Red Wings, Ghost scored ten goals and 46 assists. This included 31 points (two goals, 29 assists) on the power play. Interestingly, his 5v5 xG% only reached 49.77 while his CF% was at 49.02. Some of this may be a product of the team around him and systems as he was over 60 in both categories while with Carolina for his short stint the year prior. This seems to show that Ghost is a very effective offensive defenceman who needs a defensive partner that can provide stability in their own end. But also that Ghost is a huge asset on the power play. Another notable attribute is his positive penalty differential.
Shayne Gostisbehere, signed 3x$3.2M by CAR, is a puck-moving offensive defenceman. Great passer, great shot (which he’ll use plenty), no physicality, has the best penalty differential of any defenceman in the past three seasons (+34). #LetsGoCanes pic.twitter.com/03XpFpCyky
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024
Further Depth
Carolina’s affiliation agreement with the Wolves means that there is a steady place for Carolina to house depth defencemen and/or rising prospects. Players like Aleksi Heimosalmi, Domenick Fensore, Charles-Alexis Legault, Anttoni Honka, Ronan Seeley and Scott Morrow all have a place to play together and develop. While most of them will likely not see NHL ice, the leader of the pack in ability and potential in Morrow may. Morrow got one game with Carolina last year after signing his ELC following his time at UMass. A gifted offensive defenceman who looks to be a potential power play quarterback and offensive defenceman, Morrow may be a great depth piece when needed this season.
But there are additional, more veteran depth pieces Carolina has to round out its defensive group. Riley Stillman was signed as a free agent this offseason after a year in Buffalo. At 26, the left-shot defenceman could be a late bloomer like Jalen Chatfield, but more likely will stay as a depth defensive defenceman. He isn’t going to turn any heads but should be solid enough to step in a few games when injuries strike to play a quiet defensive game with a touch of physicality. If nothing else, he does have Hurricanes lineage as his father Cory Stillman was part of the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship team.
In addition, there is Ty Smith who came over in the Jake Guentzel trade. Another pure offensive defenceman who started his career with a lot of promise but has struggled to settle into an NHL role. And then there is Joakim Ryan who returns to the NHL after a few years in Sweden. Another player who won’t likely move the needle too much, but one who has NHL experience and can step in if needed.
The Hurricanes Revamped Defence Outlook
The outlook for Carolina’s new defence is that it has the potential to be just as good, if not better, than before but may take some time to settle in. The top pairing of Slavin and Burns remains while last year’s bottom pairing of Chatfield and Orlov does too. The change comes in the middle pairing, its trickle-down effect on the bottom pairing, the depth pieces, and special teams. But let’s break it down.
Puck Moving and Transition (Slight Upgrade/No Change)
Carolina loves to have its defence engaged offensively and drive play from the back end. This requires great skating and transition abilities. This likely stays the same or improves a touch based on this new group. Skjei and Pesce were effective in this regard but Walker and Ghost are as well. Walker may actually be the best of the group in this if he can maintain last season’s success. But the collective group will have to settle in to find some rhythm.
Defence and Penalty Kill (Downgrade)
The Hurricanes new collective defence will likely see a downgrade in defensive ability. Walker seems like a likely replacement for Skjei in this category but Ghost will not be able to defend like Pesce could. Stillman might be better defensively than DeAngelo but these depth defencemen’s impact is more minimal. This will also hold true on the penalty kill and in the fact that both Ghost and Walker are smaller than Skjei and Pesce. It doesn’t mean that the team will all out struggle defensively, and it doesn’t account for any potential improvements of their current players. But for what’s in and what’s out, defense likely took a hit.
Offence and Power Play (Upgrade)
The Hurricanes offence from their defence likely improved this offseason. Again, Walker has shown his ability to drive play and move the puck as well as a decent ability to finish. While his points were not as high as Skjei, he likely is a trade for Skjei and Pesce in play driving with an improvement in production over Pesce but slight downgrade to Skjei. However, it is Ghost that shows the most production of the four. His point total last season on a weaker team exceeded Skjei and, by a pretty wide margin, Pesce. With the expected goals and other advanced analytics he showed during his time in Carolina previously, it will be interesting to see him for a full season. This should also improve the power play significantly with his ability to quarterback and rocket shots from far out.
Chemistry and Fit (TBD)
On one hand, Carolina lost a pairing that had developed great chemistry together and excelled in Carolina’s system. Anytime you lose familiarity and have to bring in new guys to adjust it will take time to develop chemistry. Hockey is such a fast and complex game with so many different factors it’s not always easy to assess the potential chemistry aspect.
But what makes the assessment of the additions of Walker and Ghost in this category seem so optimistic is twofold. For one, both players love to jump into the play from the back end and skate the puck. Carolina’s system not only utilizes this, but actually heavily relies on it to succeed. Even defensively they play man-to-man which requires constant skating and active engagement. But in the case of Ghost, he’s been here before and has made it known that he loved playing for Brind’Amour. During his short prior stint he showed great chemistry with Chatfield. It was tough to see him walk after that year.
The big question now is where Walker fits. Chatfield has chemistry with both Orlov and Ghost. Do you play Orlov and Walker together? In that pairing you have two somewhat similar style defencemen who are under six foot tall. Or do you put Walker and Ghost together so that the Orlov/Chatfield pairing can pick up where they left off? Last season that Orlove/Chatfield pairing was very effective for Carolina. Most likely they look at Walker and Orlov together based on pure ability, but it could take some time for the reliable pairings to develop. Patience may be key to this working well.
Rounding Out the Defence
At the end of the day, the Hurricanes defence will likely take a hit defensively, improve offensively and take some time to settle in as a group. There is an unknown as well with Pesce’s injury history keeping him out of the lineup at times the last few years. With so much change this offseason that may not be a bad thing for this year. They have the potential to be a fast and mobile defensive group with constant pressure on the opposition. The depth should actually improve beyond the top six and Morrow could have the opportunity to step in sooner than people may expect. And let’s not forget the potential that a certain highly anticipated Russian defenceman currently in the KHL may find his way to Carolina before the end of the season…..
Main Photo Credit: James Guillory- USA Today Sports
