The Carolina Hurricanes are having difficulty gaining any meaningful momentum through 35 games of the 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign. The Canes are 18-13-4 and fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, which certainly isn't bad, but is inconsistent with the massive expectations put on the shoulders of this team at the beginning of the season.
Carolina improved to 14-8-1 after a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 2, but things went off the rails for the rest of December. This club has won just four of 12 since, including entering the Christmas break with just a win in their last five tries. A 5-2 victory over the surging Nashville Predators on Wednesday night was encouraging, but it's still been an overall precarious start for the Stanley Cup contenders.
An easy observation to make is that the Hurricanes are having difficulty adjusting to life without Frederik Andersen. The team's starting goalie is out indefinitely with blood clots, and Pyotr Kochetkov and Antti Raanta have struggled to pick up the slack. The former has been getting better in a starting role, while the latter has struggled mightily and was even waived earlier this month.
Two seasons ago, Andersen was selected as an NHL All-Star at the festivities in Paradise, Nevada. Last year, it was Andrei Svechnikov getting the nod in Sunrise, Florida for the 2023 All-Star Game. In 2024, it's almost certain that both players will not be heading north to Toronto. Although Svechnikov is now healthy, he hasn't done enough to make an All-Star case.
Sebastian Aho is a different story. After joining Andersen in Las Vegas in 2022, the Finnish star seems poised to return to the All-Star Game in Toronto come February.
Sebastian Aho is the obvious choice
The 2021-22 campaign was not the best of Aho's career, but it was close. And it earned him his second NHL All-Star Game nod — the first was back in 2019. Aho should be making it three come next February, as he's been the best player on the Hurricanes' roster, and not by a little. In 32 games, Aho is leading the team with 14 goals and 35 points while playing the tough minutes as a 1C.
He's also playing more than every other forward on the team, and continues to be relied on by coach Rod Brind'Amour in all facets of the game. The 26-year-old has hovered around the point-per-game mark throughout his career, but if he continues this kind of play, he will eclipse career-highs across the board.
Aho's best season came in 2018-19, when he scored 30 goals and 83 points en route to his first NHL All-Star nod. Unless Gary Bettman and the league decide to get a new player involved — something they love to do — Aho should be a shoo-in for his third ASG in February.
Seth Jarvis is a dark horse
If the league does decide to give Aho a break from the festivities, there aren't too many other names that jump off the page. With goaltending ruled out, the only other forward who could earn some recognition is Seth Jarvis, who is in the midst of a breakout campaign.
After being selected No. 13 overall by Carolina in the 2020 NHL Draft, Jarvis spent a very short time in the American Hockey League before being called up to the big leagues in 2021-22. The 21-year-old showed flashes of potential, scoring 40 points in 68 games in his rookie year. But the sophomore slump hit in a big way, and Jarvis only recorded 39 points in 82 games last year.
In 2023-24, Jarvis again looks like the promising prospect he showed as a teenager a couple of years ago. Although he's bounced up and down the lineup, Jarvis has gotten looks on the top line with Aho, as well as the top powerplay unit. While he is currently skating on the third line, he remains on PP1 with Aho, Svechnikov, Brent Burns and Michael Bunting.
And, Jarvis has been producing, to the tune of 12 goals and 26 points in 35 games while averaging nearly 19 minutes of time on ice per game. He's given Carolina another offensive weapon, and looks poised to enjoy a career-best season in Raleigh the way things are going. He's still a longshot to be considered for Toronto in February, but there's at least a slim chance for the former Portland Winterhawk.
Brady Skjei with a small chance?
If you're a defenseman on the Carolina Hurricanes, the chances of you going to the All-Star Game are slim. The Canes boast one of the best bluelines in the NHL, with Burns, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce forming one of the most fearsome top-four groups in the game. The one player missing, and the D-man who has maybe been the best on the team in 2023-24? That would be Brady Skjei.
A former first-round pick over a decade ago, Skjei spent the beginning of his career with the New York Rangers before being traded to Raleigh for a first-rounder in 2020. Skjei scored 39 points two years ago and 38 last year, but his offensive production has increased even more this year. The 29-year-old is leading a strong defensive group with six goals and 21 points in 35 games. And that's with limited to no powerplay exposure whatsoever.
Skjei is having a fantastic year, and has a great chance to shatter his career-high of 39 points. Whether it's enough to earn him an All-Star nod is unlikely, but he's probably more focused on getting his team out of its current slump. Regardless, he has an outside chance to be selected, if the Hurricanes do end up sending two players.
The most likely outcome is that Sebastian Aho heads to Toronto for his third All-Star Game. But both Seth Jarvis and Brady Skjei are having excellent years, and could get some consideration ahead of the 2024 festivities.
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