The Carolina Hurricanes fell short of the Stanley Cup once again in 2024. After that lost, they faced their first major decision of the offseason. Do they keep Rod Brind'Amour as head coach or do they let him walk in free agency? This question was resolved quickly as the Hurricanes signed Brind'Amour to an extension. However, other decisions wouldn't be so easy.
The Hurricanes had some key pieces reach NHL Free Agency this summer. Defensemen Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo hit the open market when it began on July 1. Additionally, forwards Stefan Noesen, Jake Guentzel, and Teuvo Teravainen left the team this summer. Carolina traded Guentzel to the Tampa Bay Lightning while the other two signed with different teams.
The Hurricanes did not allow this exodus to go unanswered, though. They signed players such as Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Walker, and William Carrier to replace the names lost. It's certainly been an interesting summer for Carolina to say the least.
The Hurricanes have been incredibly steady over the last few seasons. In fact, they have recorded three straight 110+ point finishes. They won the Metropolitan Division in 2022 and 2024 while losing it to the New York Rangers in 2024.
Carolina enters the 2024-25 NHL season as one of the more fascinating teams in the league. In saying this, the Hurricanes have one major roster concern that could give them fits in the season ahead. And it's a rather inherent issue that comes from having this sort of offseason.
Hurricanes' roster turnover could lead to chemistry issues
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour has spoken about the roster turnover this offseason. He spoke rather bluntly about the losses this summer. He mentioned that the departing phone calls were rather hard for him as he said goodbye to some of his players.
“You get attached to the guys, especially when we’ve had them [for a long time],” Brind’Amour said back in mid-July. “It was hard, I’ll be honest. It was hard to watch guys walk out of here … I had a lot of tough [phone] calls this summer. I haven’t really had too many of those. We have good players and teams will pay them. We can’t pay everybody. That’s just how it goes unfortunately.”
As of now, four of their forwards are projected to be new players. William Carrier, Jack Roslovic, and Eric Robinson represent external free-agent additions. Furthermore, young forward Bradly Nadeau could earn significant ice time this season.
On the defensive side, two of their top six defensemen are new faces. To be fair, one is a returning face. Shayne Gostisbehere played half a season in Carolina in 2023-24. The other, Sean Walker, will make his Hurricanes debut in October.
This is essentially an entirely new forward line and a new defensive pairing for Carolina moving forward. And it could take some time for these new players to settle into their new surroundings. Furthermore, their new teammates need time to adjust to the playstyles of the newcomers.
The Hurricanes should be a good team in 2024-25. In fact, they should still be a favorite to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite their losses But with the roster turnover this summer, there will definitely be some growing pains. Carolina is certainly shaping up to be a team that will be worth watching in the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season for one reason or another.
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