Subscribe
Follow Us
For the second time in three years, the Carolina Hurricanes fell short in the Eastern Conference Final. The Canes have now made the playoffs in seven straight seasons, but have not advanced to the Stanley Cup Final since winning it all in 2006. With plenty of cap space and a strong core, the Hurricanes have pledged to be aggressive this offseason. We now look at the dream scenario for the Hurricanes in this 2025 NHL Free Agency period.
While the Hurricanes won a game in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in nearly two decades, it still was not enough to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. It was a solid season overall, sitting second in the Metropolitan Division, and winning eight of their first 10 playoff games before falling to the Florida Panthers. Further, the Canes have a solid base to work with this offseason. They have six unrestricted free agents heading into this offseason. The Hurricanes are also expected to have over $30 million in cap space to work with, according to Cap Wages.
Still, they have multiple needs. First, while they scored well, scoring 3.24 goals per game in the regular season, they were 25th in the NHL on the power play. They also need more scoring depth. In the series with the Panthers, they scored only 10 goals. Two of the goals were on an empty net. Only one goal in the series was scored in a five-on-five situation by a player not on the top line. Finally, there are pending free agents on the blue line who need to be replaced.
The Hurricanes need to push for Mitch Marner
The Canes pushed hard in the middle of the season for a top scoring threat to pair with Sebastian Aho on the top line. They made a trade for Mikko Rantanen, but it did not work out for Rantanen in Carolina, and he was sent to the Dallas Stars. They did get Logan Stankoven in return. Stankoven scored five goals and four assists in 19 regular-season games while playing on the second and third lines. He was the only player to score a goal against the Panthers in a five-on-five situation that was not on the top line. Regardless, he has not shown to be a top-flight scoring threat yet. Stankoven is still young at just 22 years old. Still, his career averages would suggest closer to 45 points per 82 games.
Mitch Marner is coming off his ninth season in a row scoring over 60 points in a campaign. This past year, Marner scored 27 goals while adding a career high 75 assists. He also had a career-high 102 points. The winger has been over 80 points with over 25 goals in each of the last four years. He has been over 90 points in three of the last four seasons. Marner also has been great on the power play, having 25 or more power-play points in each of the last four seasons.
Marner has given fairly high contract demands, but Carolina can afford it. He is expected to bring a cap hit of over $13 million per year, while the Canes have over $30 million in cap space. According to Cap Wages, the Hurricanes can bring back every pending free agent, and still be just $2 million short of also bringing in Marner. The Hurricanes would gladly let people walk if it meant bringing in a player at Marner's level.
The Hurricanes need a second-line center
Article Continues Below
There are not a lot of top-level centers in free agency this year. The Hurricanes need one for their second line. Jordan Staal will be 37 at the start of the season. While Staal's overall production has remained consistent in recent years, it is still far from his peak. His advanced metrics also suggest a decline may be on the horizon. Meanwhile, Jesperi Kotkaniemi has not shown the consistent production needed to be the second-line center. He scored just 12 goals this year while adding 21 points. His high-danger scoring chances have dropped over the last three seasons, and his giveaways have gone up. Kotkaniemi gave away the puck 67 times in 161 games between the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 seasons. This past year, he turned over the puck 61 times in just 78 games.
An upgrade is needed in this spot for Carolina. One top option was Brock Nelson, but he has re-signed with the Avalanche. This makes Sam Bennett the top remaining free-agent center. As noted, the Hurricanes have plenty of cap space, and Bennett is expected to bring in a contract near $6.75 AAV. He would also be a solid upgrade over Kotkaniemi. Bennett has scored over 40 points in each of the last four seasons. He is also coming off his best season with a career-high 51 points. Finally, Bennett had 11 points on the power play this year, as opposed to the one point from Kotkaniemi. The bonus is that not only would the Hurricanes get better production, but they would also weaken the team that knocked them out of the playoffs.
Replacing blue line players is a must
The Hurricanes will be losing one, if not two, of their top six defensemen. Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns are both pending free agents. Both players are expected to command over $5 million per year in their next contract, while both players are over 33 years old, with Burns over 40. Aaron Ekblad may be an attractive option for the Hurricanes. While he will cost more than Orlov and Burns, looking closer to $7.8 million per year, he would also pair well next to Jaccob Slavin on the top defensive pairing, or provide experience with Alexander Nikishin on the second pairing.
Ekblad has also shown to be a quality player on the penalty kill. He played on the top penalty kill unit for the Panthers, which ranked tenth in the NHL on the penalty kill this year. Ekblad has similar advanced stats on the offensive end of the ice to Orlov. He is slightly lower in IPP, a measure of directly contributing to goals, but slightly better in high-danger chances created. Also, his 71 hits would have ranked him third among defensemen on the Hurricanes this year.
