Welcome to Puck Drop Preview 2014-15, where our hockey department gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the start of this hockey season and offers our insight and analysis. Makes sure to stick around until the end of the series, where we’ll offer our full predictions for the standings in each division, and eventually our collective LWOS 2014-15 Stanley Cup pick. You can check out all our articles on our Puck Drop Page. Today we kick off the Metropolitan Division with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Last Season

The Carolina Hurricanes had a rough season in 2013-2014, missing the playoffs for their fifth straight year. They finished with a record of 36-35-11, good for 83 points. They scored 203 goals (23rd in the NHL) and allowed 230 (17th in the NHL). They finished seventh in the Metropolitan, and were just 4 points out of last place in the division.

A small part of the Hurricanes’ struggles came from missing starting goaltender Cam Ward, who only played 30 games for Carolina. Even when Ward did play, he wasn’t that good: he had a GAA of 3.06 and a save percentage of .898%. However, they did find themselves a potential franchise goalie in 28 year old Anton Khudobin, who went 19-14-1 with a save percentage of .926% and a GAA of 2.30 in 36 games.

A huge bright spot for the Carolina Hurricanes was 21-year-old center Jeff Skinner, who scored 33 goals and finished with 54 points, which was his highest total since his rookie season in 2010-2011, when he had 63. Eric Staal had a quietly good season with 21 goals and 40 assists in 79 games. Andrej Sekera had a nice season as well, with 44 points (11 goals, 33 assists) and a +7 in 74 games. The Hurricanes needed Sekera to be a top pairing defenseman, and he rose to the occasion. He won’t be confused for an All-Star any time soon though.

Ron Hainsey was a pleasant surprise for Carolina, driving possession well and being a decent second pairing defenseman for the Hurricanes. 21 year old Justin Faulk was a member of the United States Olympic Hockey Team and emerged as one of the best young defensemen in hockey. 19-year-old center Elias Lindholm was able to hold his own, scoring 21 points.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ failure of a season in 2013-2014 was largely due to the lack of production from certain players. Alexander Semin had an alright season with 22 goals and 42 points, but the Hurricanes were probably expecting a bit more from him. Jordan Staal, who the Carolina Hurricanes traded a first round pick and Brandon Sutter for in 2012, had just 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games. Jiri Tlusty, after scoring 38 points in 48 games in 2012-2013, was expected to be a big contributor for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013-2014, but he had just 30 points in 68 games.

The lack of success for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013-2014 lead to head coach Kirk Muller and his coaching staff being fired, as well as general manager Jim Rutherford.

Puck Drop Preview: 2014-2015 Carolina Hurricanes

Offseason Changes:

The biggest offseason changes for the Carolina Hurricanes happened in the front office and on the coaching staff. Incumbents Muller (head coach) and Rutherford (general manager) were both fired after the regular season. They were replaced by head coach Bill Peters and general manager Ron Francis. Bill Peters was an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings for the past three seasons and has served as a head coach in the AHL.

When Carolina announced those two changes, I expected them to make big changes on the ice as well, especially after such a disappointing season. That was not the case, but they did make a few signings. They added forward Ben Holmstrom from the Philadelphia Flyers, forward Jay McClement and goaltender Drew MacIntyre from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and forward Brad Malone from the Colorado Avalanche. They also signed defenseman Tim Gleason. However, none of these players are expected to play huge roles with the Hurricanes.

They were able to re-sign several of their free agents. They signed Hainsey to a very reasonable contract. Hainsey, even at his worst, is still a very serviceable NHL defenseman and should serve as a mentor to the younger blue liners, along with Gleason. They re-signed defensemen Brett Bellemore, Michal Jordan, and Rasmus Rissanen to two-way deals. Both should provide blue-line depth in case of injuries. Re-signed forwards Justin Shugg, Zach Boychuk, Greg Nemisz, and Jared Staal, who was signed to a two-way deal, should provide forward depth if needed. They also re-signed Tlutsy.

They lost a few players due to free agency. They lost backup goaltender Justin Peters to their division rivals, the Washington Capitals. They also lost forward Manny Malhotra to the Montreal Canadiens, forward Brett Sutter to the Minnesota Wild, and defenseman Matthew Corrente to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

2014-15 Lineup Projection:

The Carolina Hurricanes starting lineup should not be too different from last year’s. The fourth line will probably be different, but outside of that, it will be mostly the same roster. The first line is expected to feature arguably the three most important forwards to the Carolina Hurricanes in Skinner, Eric Staal, and Semin. The second line should feature Tlutsy on the left, Jordan Staal in the center, and either Patrick Dwyer or Elias Lindholm on the right. This mostly depends on how the Carolina Hurricanes view Lindholm. If they truly want him to be a center, a third line center role might be what’s best for him, at least to start the season.

The third line will probably feature Nathan Gerbe (who holds the distinction of being the smallest player in the NHL), Lindholm, and Riley Nash. The fourth line should feature Brad Malone, Jay McClement, and Zach Boychuk. Guys like Chris Terry will provide depth.

Jeff Skinner – Eric Staal – Alexander Semin

Jiri Tlusty – Jordan Staal – Patrick Dwyer

Nathan Gerbe – Elias Lindholm – Riley Nash

Brad Malone – Jay McClement – Zach Boychuk

Chris Terry

On the defensive end, the Carolina Hurricanes will be pretty similar to last season as well. Their first line pairing looks to be Andrej Sekera and Justin Faulk. They were the best pairing for the Canes last season, and I don’t expect the coaching staff to try to mess with their chemistry, though I’m sure they’d like it if a younger defenseman grabbed Sekera’s spot. Ryan Murphy and Ron Hainsey will likely be the second pairing. Murphy might wind up taking Sekera’s spot if he can stay healthy. Hainsey, as I said earlier, should be a pretty decent top four defenseman for them. Their third pairing will probably feature two of three veteran defenseman: Tim Gleason, John-Michael Liles, and Jay Harrison. The veteran who isn’t a member of the third pairing will likely serve as the seventh defenseman.

Andrej Sekra-Justin Faulk

Ron Hainsey- Ryan Murphy

Tim Gleason- Jay Harrison

John-Michael Liles

I’m very curious to see what the Carolina Hurricanes do at goaltender. Cam Ward might be the starter by default since he’s the one making the huge bucks. On the other hand, Anton Khudobin played quite well last season, but the main question with him is can he repeat last season?

Cam Ward

Anton Khudobin

Players to Watch:

Jeff Skinner: Jeff Skinner is by far the Carolina Hurricanes’ best player. Their future depends on him. After a great rookie season, he struggled for the next two years, but he had a very nice campaign in 2013-2014. If the Carolina Hurricanes have a prayer of making the playoffs in 2014-2015, that prayer is named Jeff Skinner. He’ll need to have a career season for the Hurricanes to contend for the playoffs. He has a lot of talent, but has yet to put it all together. When he does, watch out.

Cam Ward: This might be Cam Ward’s last chance with the Hurricanes. He has certainly shown signs of greatness, but he’s inconsistent and worse, he can’t stay healthy. Ward has his back against the wall this season. For better or for worse, Cam Ward is going to show the Carolina Hurricanes what he’s made of this season.

Eric Staal: Arguably the best of the Staal brothers, Eric had a quietly good season in 2013-2014. However, the Hurricanes did not shell out big bucks to him for him to have “quietly good seasons”. If Carolina has a good season this year, Eric Staal’s going to be a huge reason why.

On the Rise:

Elias Lindholm: Lindholm is a guy who the Carolina Hurricanes need to figure out what to do with. They had him playing wing most of last season, but he is a natural center. The Hurricanes must decide what to do with him. If they don’t think he’s a future center, they should place him at wing. If they want him to be a center, they should definitely put him at center. That would also help the Hurricanes be deeper at down the middle.

Justin Faulk: Justin Faulk earned his status as a top pairing defenseman last season. He’s already very good defensively, but he’s still developing his game on offense. He’s a very important part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ future and I’m expecting him to have a big season to cement his status as a top pairing defenseman.

Ryan Murphy: Ryan Murphy could be primed to have the kind of season that Justin Faulk had last season. He was thrown into the fire last season, playing 48 games and scoring 12 points. He should be seeing second pairing minutes this season. If he develops and grows well, he might be paired with Justin Faulk on the top defensive pairing by the end of the season.

On the Decline:

Jordan Staal: When the Carolina Hurricanes traded a first round pick and Brandon Sutter to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Jordan Staal back in 2012, they thought they were getting a big piece to their puzzle. After his disappointing 2013-2014 season, they were probably wrong in thinking that. Jordan Staal needs to put up better numbers to justify his top 6 forward status.

Jiri Tlutsy: After having a very nice season in 2012-2013 (mostly thanks to a shooting percentage that was close to 20%), Tlutsy regressed in 2013-2014. He’s still a somewhat productive player, but he’s probably never going to be what he was in 2012-2013 ever again.

Alexander Semin: I’m a huge fan of Semin, but he seems to be trending in the wrong direction, especially for someone who has a $7 million cap hit until 2018. He has yet to break the 50 point barrier in any season since joining the Carolina Hurricanes. Part of that can be chalked up to the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season and injuries last season, but Semin has to be better if the Carolina Hurricanes want to have success.

2014-15 Season Expectations:

Expectations are not going to be high for Carolina this season. Every other team in the Metropolitan Division improved in some way, while the Hurricanes did not. Therefore, it’s very likely that the Hurricanes finish in dead last in the division.

This season’s success will not be judged by wins for the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s going to be judged by the development of their younger players and by figuring out what to do with the rest of their roster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of the veterans traded at the deadline, especially if their prospects push for spots on the NHL roster.

However, there is hope for the Hurricanes. A large reason for their lackluster 2013-2014 season was the lack of production from a group of veterans. If those veterans produce like they were expected to produce last season and their young players continue to develop and improve, they might be playoff contenders, though it would take a lot going right for Carolina and a lot going wrong for other teams in order for that to happen.

Up next in LWOS’ Puck Drop Preview series: The Columbus Blue Jackets

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