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The Carolina Hurricanes have been knocking on the door of supremacy in the Eastern Conference for the past few seasons, but 2023-24 could be the year they are finally the team to beat in the East. The Canes advanced to the Eastern Conference Final during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but were surprisingly swept by the Florida Panthers in what was a Cinderella postseason run for the latter.
Still, Carolina is primed for another excellent season after a 52-win, 113-point campaign to win the Metropolitan Division in 2022-23. They added the best defenseman available in NHL Free Agency in the smooth-skating Dmitry Orlov, shoring up what is one of the best defensive cores in the National Hockey League. They added sandpaper in former Toronto Maple Leaf Michael Bunting, a player who will be crucial if the team gets in another hard-hitting playoff series similar to the ECF against the Cats. And they locked up one of the best goaltending duos in the game, keeping Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta together for at least another season.
The Hurricanes should be at the top of the Metro again next season, but that's not the issue. Carolina has been swept in three consecutive Eastern Conference Finals: last year against Florida, in 2019 against the Boston Bruins and in 2009 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In at least the former two, scoring has been an issue. Andrei Svechnikov's health will be a huge factor, but this team could still use another proven playoff sniper.
Vladimir Tarasenko?
Earlier in NHL Free Agency, it was reported that 2019 Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko would be signing with the team. However, the Russian sniper fired his representation shortly after and re-set the free agency process for himself. The 31-year-old reportedly had multiple offers from contending and rebuilding teams in the $5.5-to-$6 million range, including an offer from the Hurricanes, and rejected them all.
Although there were reports that Tarasenko wanted to remain with the New York Rangers, the team that traded for him ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, it didn't work due to cap space in the Big Apple. It is an interesting time for Tarasenko, who is arguably the best winger still available on the NHL free agent market. Canes GM Don Waddell should still be trying hard to bring Tarasenko to Raleigh.
Tarasenko was solid in his short time with the Rangers, and is still a reliable top-six sniper for a team who lacks goal scoring. Getting the Russian to Raleigh is the perfect fit for a team that has not scored as many goals as they wanted to in the postseason.The Canes are Stanley Cup contenders, have the money for Tarasenko, and badly need another scoring winger. That's especially true in the postseason. Although the deal fell through once, expect that Carolina will find a way to bring the sniper into the fold.
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Hurricanes' roster need: a scoring forward
Carolina has a plethora of solid forwards. Led by superstar Sebastian Aho and important pieces including Svechnikov and Martin Necas, they are defensively sound and capable of scoring in bunches. But the consistency just hasn't been there for the team overall. Last year, Aho led the team with 36 goals. A Necas breakout campaign saw him score 28, and the next highest was Svechnikov at 23. No other player had more than 18.
In the postseason, that issue was exacerbated, with no player scoring more than six goals. That was Jesper Fast. Aho and Seth Jarvis had just five, while a few other forwards clocked in at four. The Hurricanes simply struggled to score goals against the Panthers, but admittedly, a lot of that had to do with the phenomenal play of Sergei Bobrovsky.
Still, Vladimir Tarasenko scored an outstanding 11 goals in 26 postseason games to help the St. Louis Blues capture their inaugural Stanley Cup in 2019. He scored six in 12 games in 2022 with the Blues and three in seven games against the New Jersey Devils in Round 1 last year. All of that to say, he is the piece the team needs.
And if not Tarasenko, Waddell should be looking for either a centre or a winger who can score goals in the postseason. That is really the one thing holding this organization back from winning its first Stanley Cup since 2006. The Carolina Hurricanes are strictly in win-now mode, and with Erik Karlsson likely not heading to Raleigh, they could pick up one more piece to help get them over the hump in the next few seasons. Whether or not that happens ahead of training camp or at next year's trade deadline, a scoring forward is what the team needs most next year.
