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After finishing second in NHL standings last season with a phenomenal 52 wins, the Carolina Hurricanes are having a tough time putting it all together in 2023-24. The Canes are not bad by any means, but the hockey world expected this team to challenge for a President's Trophy this year, and those expectations aren't being met in the early going.
Carolina is 9-7, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division and tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. They're scoring 3.19 goals per game, which is middle of the pack at 17th overall, and have allowed 3.25, good for 16th. That's not what anyone in Raleigh expected coming into the season. It does feel like something is missing from a squad that clearly looked like a Stanley Cup contender last season, and hasn't been anything near that through 16 games. That's especially concerning considering the best goalie on this roster is out indefinitely.
Frederik Andersen injury concerning
Frederik Andersen hasn't played since Nov. 2 after the team announced he was dealing with blood clots and didn't have a timetable for return. Now on the injured reserve, it's up to Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov to carry the load. The Canes are blessed to have three NHL-ready goalies, and now we'll see if the depth between the pipes can hold up.
The early returns are good, if not great. Raanta has started three games since Andersen's injury diagnosis, winning two and allowing nine total goals. Kocketkov impressively shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning before giving up three in a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. The Canes have some of the best goaltending depth in the league, but it will continue to be tested in Andersen's absence.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi enjoying a breakout campaign
On a Hurricanes team that is not scoring nearly as many goals as last year in the early going, there have been a few players pulling the weight offensively. One of them is Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The 23-year-old accounted for just 18 goals and 43 points in 2022-23, and those were career-high numbers. The former Montreal Canadien seems poised to shatter those this time around.
Kotkaniemi is tied with Sebastian Aho for the team lead in points, registering a seriously impressive six goals and 13 points in just 16 games while averaging only 15:24 of ice time per game. He's also not on the top powerplay unit, with most of his time spent on PP2 since the return of Aho and Andrei Svechnikov from their respective injuries.
Still, the young Finn is excelling while centering a line that features Svechnikov and Martin Necas on the wings. Necas broke out last year and has been great again in 2023-24, scoring twelve points of his own in 16 games. Although Kotkaniemi has slowed somewhat recently, with just three points in his last five games, he's looking like a true breakout candidate for a team that is struggling to put the puck in the net.
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Free agency trio of Bunting, Orlov, DeAngelo disappointing
On the other side of the coin are the three players that were brought to Raleigh in NHL Free Agency to help the Hurricanes get over the hump in Michael Bunting, Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo.
After a hot start, Bunting has recorded just a single point over his last five games, and he's been relegated to the fourth line at even strength, as well as the second powerplay unit. He's gotten away from the sandpaper style of play this team needs, and he's struggling to find the offensive touch he had in Toronto.
Orlov and DeAngelo make up the third pairing in Carolina, and have been getting caved in while struggling to produce offensively. DeAngelo is a pure offensive defensemen, and if he isn't putting up points, he's a liability. The 28-year-old has just a goal and seven points, and that's while playing on a powerplay unit that features Aho, Necas, Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis. He's seen his minutes wane to just 16:14 on average.
Orlov was considered the free agency signing of the summer, but he's also been a disappointment. The Stanley Cup champion has only six points of his own, while averaging just 17:52 of time on ice. That's much lower than the Russian is used to — along with being on the third pairing. He was once seeing looks on PP2, but that is no longer the case with Brent Burns playing as the only D-man on the unit.
All three of Bunting, DeAngelo and Orlov have been disappointing, and so have the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023-24. But there's a lot of time for a team that is still a wagon on paper to turn things around.
