The stage is set: thanks to the Florida Panthers’ loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes have officially clinched a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ll likely play either the Pittsburgh Penguins or New York Islanders, unless the Panthers really step up their game to slide into the first Wild Card spot.
Both the Penguins and the Islanders should be relatively benign competition for Carolina, although I could certainly jinx myself on that one. It’s the second round that becomes sticky — the Hurricanes will face either the New Jersey Devils or the New York Rangers, two teams they’ve struggled against this year. Between the two, Carolina has a combined record of 3-5-0 on the season.
Obviously, that doesn’t look great. To make matters worse, right wing Andrei Svechnikov suffered a season-ending injury on March 11 — with his absence, Carolina lost one of its best goal-scorers, even if he hit a bit of a plateau later in the season.
In his place, analysts and fans alike are looking for that guy within the Hurricanes’ current roster. They’re seeking the lights-out scorer, the offensive machine, a forward who will put shot after shot on the likes of Boston’s Linus Ullmark and New York’s Igor Shsterkin before the game-winning goal finally sneaks through.
The only problem? “That guy” might not even exist. At least he doesn’t exist in the capacity the Hurricanes need if the playoffs started tomorrow.
Even the most casual hockey fan will tell you that every team poised for a run at the Cup needs a star. They could be franchise players: Pittsburgh has Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, Boston has Patrice Bergeron. Or, they could be young upstarts with nothing to lose — think of New Jersey center Jack Hughes, who’s already notched 86 points on the season and is largely responsible for the Devils’ monstrous comeback. As it stands, Carolina just doesn’t have that player.
That’s not to say the Hurricanes don’t have depth — in fact, just the opposite. In the five years since general manager Don Waddell and head coach Rod Brind’Amour were hired, the pair have built a consistently well-rounded team. You don’t have to look further than Carolina’s history to see it: after missing the playoffs for nine seasons in a row, the Canes have clinched a postseason run every year since Waddell and Brind’Amour were hired.
That being said, anyone who’s ever been on Canes Twitter after a hard-fought loss knows that the positive aspects of the season are often lost in a sea of despair and confusion. Fans really living up to the “bunch of jerks” title couldn’t help but complain after Sunday night’s tough OT loss to the Bruins despite the fact that Carolina took three of four points out of a back-to-back weekend playing Toronto and Boston. That’s still impressive.
I get the concern. The Hurricanes are struggling to find their footing in the crease between Antti Raanta’s injury, Frederik Andersen’s tendency to give up easy shots and Pyotr Kochetkov’s rookie status. One of their top scorers is out for the rest of the season, and younger hotshots like centers Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi aren’t producing like they need to be.
But let’s face it — despite everything, Carolina is still firmly the second-best team in the league. Depending on how well they play over the next three weeks, the Hurricanes are poised for a 55-win season, which is something they’ve never done before. They’ve had incredible individual successes this season — defensemen Brent Burns is having one of the best seasons of his career in spite of his relocation to Raleigh in 2022, and you couldn’t ask for a better comeback year from center Martin Necas. Why all the doom and gloom?
Obviously, it’s easy to complain the second your Jennings Trophy-winning goalie lets an easy puck slip through or when someone reminds you your team’s lost two of their best forwards for the rest of the season. But the Hurricanes don’t need your pity, nor do they really want it. There’s so much more to look forward to as the season draws to a close.
Complain-iacs, maybe keep the negativity off Twitter for a while.
