The offseason is now fully underway after Vegas took home the Stanley Cup which means that it’s time to examine what each team will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Carolina.
No one would have faulted the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round exit after losing Andrei Svechnikov, Max Pacioretty, and Teuvo Teravainen to injuries. Instead, some miracle performances from depth players vaulted them into the Eastern Conference Final – before promptly getting swept by the Florida Panthers. While they were up against a Vezina-caliber netminder in Sergei Bobrovsky playing some of the best hockey in his life, the Hurricanes still scored just six goals in four Conference Final games, igniting an all-too-familiar refrain among their recent playoff exits. General manager Don Waddell enters the offseason with a crystal-clear priority: improve the team’s scoring ability. They have the cap space to do so.
Sign A Second-Line Center
Let’s make one thing clear – this is not a knock on Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
He produced the way a player getting paid his $4.82MM cap hit should. The 22-year-old Finn still has some room to grow and notched a career-high 18 goals and 43 points while putting together some solid defensive hockey. He looked overmatched at times during the postseason, though, and perhaps he’s best slotted in the Hurricanes lineup as a high-end third-line center, allowing them to bump competent veteran Jordan Staal down to fourth-line minutes. With a solid top-four wing core of Svechinkov, Teravainen, Martin Necas, and Seth Jarvis, the most glaring hole in terms of offense on the team’s top two lines is at center.
There are a handful of solid options in free agency that provide a bit more offensive ceiling, especially if they’re playing with Necas. Carolina has $24MM in cap space this offseason, per CapFriendly, a number that should be around $15-18MM after figuring out their goalie situation (more on that later). Throw in another $10MM to replace (or re-sign) players like Staal and Jesper Fast, and the team should be able to throw around at least $5MM per season to a second-line center.
Could Ryan O’Reilly provide a veteran presence and added offensive punch with a speedy Necas? What about the minute-munching J.T. Compher if he doesn’t reach an extension with the Colorado Avalanche? Max Domi could be a solid option, too, although he’s less of a sure thing given his offensive inconsistencies throughout his career.
Trade Or Extend Pesce
The Hurricanes have a pair of key unrestricted free agents up in front in 2024 in Teravainen and Sebastian Aho, but there’s not much concern about the team’s ability to get them locked into extensions. On defense, though, their second pairing of Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce are both destined for UFA status a year from now, and rumors have been churning about Carolina’s ability to get Pesce locked down to a long-term deal.
If they get through the next few weeks without much confidence in getting Pesce extended, he’ll likely be moved. There’s been a fair bit of trade chatter already, but with former teammate Noah Hanifin likely also on the trade block, Pesce’s value will likely only rise as teams look for an elite right-shot shutdown defender on the open market. The 28-year-old averaged 22 minutes a game this season against tough competition and still managed to produce well on the scoresheet, too, recording 30 points in all 82 games.
He would net Carolina a first-round pick at minimum, adding to a prospect pool that’s already much stronger than it should be, thanks to a large amount of high-value picks in recent years from Waddell. Trading him would also free up some more cap space to add on offense while still permitting them to sign a decent replacement for Pesce on the open market.
That’s not to say Carolina shouldn’t make any effort to get a deal done here – he’s a spectacular player who’s been a large part of their success in recent seasons. If there just isn’t anything to be had there, though, it’s not the end of the world.
Re-Sign Netminders
Collectively, Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta didn’t have the best regular seasons. Andersen’s save percentage dipped to .903 after recording a .922 mark in 2021-22, while Raanta’s decline was much less exaggerated (.912 in 2021-22, .910 in 2022-23).
Andersen put all that behind him in the playoffs, though, recording a .927 save percentage in nine starts, outmatched only by Bobrovsky in the Eastern Conference. The 33-year-old should be a top priority for the Hurricanes to be back, even with young Pyotr Kochetkov waiting in the wings and vying for a full-time NHL spot.
Both he and Raanta are quite injury-prone, and it’s something that’s handcuffed the team at times. Luckily for them, Kochetkov has come in handy – and it’s why the three-goalie model should be used for another season. Re-signing both Andersen and Raanta gives Carolina perhaps the best goaltending safety net in the league, ensuring they’ll have a quality option with NHL experience ready to go, especially if both Andersen and Raanta are unavailable at times heading into the postseason.
Getting the two netminders locked up to short-term deals shouldn’t cost more than a total of around $8MM, something the Hurricanes can easily accommodate with their current cap structure.
Depth Decisions
The Hurricanes have many expiring contracts at the bottom of their lineup – namely Fast and Staal, who both played key roles for the team down the stretch and in the playoffs. Derek Stepan, Mackenzie MacEachern, and Paul Stastny all saw ice too, and Carolina will need to decide which veterans to re-sign and which to cut ties with.
Getting some younger blood in the lineup via free agency in exchange for Stepan and Stastny is likely a wise choice, but Fast and Staal have proven themselves invaluable in depth roles. Without a cap crunch to deal with, the team can (and should) get them signed to mid-length deals, although maybe just two or three years for the 34-year-old Staal.
There’s also the matter of whether or not to qualify Jesse Puljujarvi, their only restricted free agent forward at the NHL level. The 25-year-old can, unfortunately, be declared a bust at this point, registering just three points in 24 combined regular-season and playoff games after a trade from the Edmonton Oilers. He’s due a qualifying offer of $3MM, well above his market value, considering his production last season. Cutting ties is the likely route here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
