The Carolina Hurricanes have lost in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three years. The Canes made big moves towards winning the Cup in 2025-26, including the Hurricanes signing Nikolaj Ehlers and adding K'Andre Miller. Regardless, the face of the franchise in recent years has been Sebastian Aho. He has been the X-factor that has propelled them to multiple playoff runs, but he will not be the difference this season.
Aho was the 35th overall selection for the 2015 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He broke into the NHL during the 2016-17 season and has been the face of the Canes since. The Finn has played in 677 games, lighting the lamp 283 times while adding 348 assists, good for 631 total points. His career high in points game in 2023-24, when he amassed 89 points, while also adding another 12 in the playoffs.
The forward has also been a presence in the playoffs. Playing in 89 games, with 34 goals and 51 assists. He is coming off a slight down year, failing to score 30 goals for the first time since 2020-21, but still found a way to put up 74 points in the regular season and added another 15 in the playoffs. While he has been the face of the franchise, he has not led them to the Cup. This year's X-factor will decide if that changes.
Nikolaj Ehlers plays a factor
Ehlers was one of the biggest dominoes to fall in NHL Free Agency. Ehlers signed a six-year deal this summer with the Hurricanes. The Dane was the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets. He broke into the NHL in 2015-16, playing in 72 games and amassing 38 points. Since then, he has been a consistent threat in the lineup. From 2016-17 through 2024-25, he lit the lamp 20 or more times in nine of the ten campaigns, while scoring 50 or more points in six of the ten campaigns.
He is coming off another solid campaign. While Ehlers played in just 69 games in 2024-25, he still beat the goaltender 24 times while tying a career high with 39 helpers. This gave him the second-highest point total of his career, with 63 points. Ehlers is expected to play on the top line with Aho and Seth Jarvis, but regardless, a 60-plus point top line scoring forward does not move the needle much. Unless Ehlers becomes an 80 to 90 points threat with the Hurricanes, he will help the offense, but not be the difference in winning a Cup.
Frederik Andersen is the X-factor
Frederik Andersen needs to be the star goaltender the Hurricanes expect him to be in 2025-26, if the Canes are going to lift the Cup once again. The Florida Panthers have shown, a team needs quality goaltending in the playoffs to win the Cup. Sergei Bobrovsky has been great in the playoffs, but Andersen has yet to reach that level.
The soon-to-be 36-year-old goaltender started in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, playing in 28 games in his first campaign. While with the Ducks, he was solid and great in the playoffs, including a 2015-16 season with a 1.41 goals agaisnt average and a .947 save percentage for the team. He then spent time with the Maple Leafs before joining the Canes in 2022-23. Still, injuries have been a major issue for Andersen.
He missed much of the 2023-24 season due to blood-clotting issues. He missed most of the 2024-25 season as well with a lower-body injury. In the last three seasons, he has played in just total of 72 games. Further, he struggled in the playoffs against the Panthers. He started just four games and was pulled in one of them. While the goaltender had a shutout in the series, he also gave up 13 goals in the other three games.
The injury history has been the biggest knock on the netminder, though. This led to speculation that the Hurricanes would be interested in Carter Hart, but that has been shut down by head coach Rod Brind'Amour. When in the net, Andersen has been solid at times. Now he just needs to be consistently in the net.
In the 2022-23 playoffs, he played in nine games, going 5-3 with a 1.83 goals agaisnt average and a .927 save percentage. Regardless, he missed time early in the playoffs and again as the team was eliminated due to an injury. Andersen is a quality goaltender, but if he cannot stay on the ice, the Hurricanes will suffer. This will lead to Pyotr Kochetkov in the net. He is not at the same level as a goaltender.
Goaltending woes have damaged the recent campaigns for the Canes. If they want to make a run in the playoffs, it starts with Andersen. That starts with him staying healthy throughout the year. Andersen has the skill, but his health is the X-factor this year for Carolina.
