Carolina Hurricanes 2014-15 Season Primer

The Carolina Hurricanes are the first Metropolitan team up in our Season Primer series.

Use the below Tabs to view Hurricanes info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 record: 36-35-11, 83 points
Where they finished: 7th in the Metropolitan; 13th in the East; tied for 24th in the NHL

Player Salaries: $62,117,500 (21)
Cap Payroll: $63,740,000
Bonuses: $1,300,000
Retained Salary: $950,000
Bonus Overages: $60,000
Cap Space: $5,260,000
Forwards: $35,725,000 (11)
Defensemen: $18,455,000 (8)
Goalies: $8,550,000 (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Ben Holmstrom C, Bill Peters Head Coach, Brad Malone LW/C, Drew MacIntyre G, Jay McClement C, Tim Gleason D

Out: Brett Sutter C/LW, Justin Peters G, Kirk Muller Head Coach, Manny Malhotra C/LW, Mark Flood D, Matt Corrente D, Mike Murphy G

2014-15 Team Outlook:

Last season was yet another disappointment for a Hurricanes team that has now missed the playoffs in an Eastern Conference leading five seasons in a row.

Even with the yearly failures of the core group (that is filled with big name players), once again this offseason no significant changes were made to the team on the ice, with only front office moves being made to try to spark the team.

General manager Jim Rutherford, who had held the position since 1994, stepped down and ultimately accepted a job with the Penguins as their new GM. Rutherford was replaced with longtime NHL’er and former Carolina captain, Ron Francis, who made his first big move, firing head coach Kirk Muller, only nine days later. Taking over for Muller is Bill Peters, a former assistant coach to Mike Babcock on the Detroit Red Wings.

The rest of the offseason was rather quiet for Carolina, signing only a few role players to round out the roster and replace other role players who were lost during free agency.

On paper the offense looks to be quite solid, however, it has proved in the past to be rather hit-or-miss from game-to-game. On the first-line will be Eric Staal in the middle, paired along with Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty on his wings. All three players had down years last season and will need to return to their past selves if Carolina is to have a chance at playoffs. On the second-line will likely be Jordan Staal at centre with Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm, Nathan Gerbe or Zach Boychuk on the wing. Boychuk, who is in his second stint with Carolina after being traded two years ago and signing back on last season, will be looking to turn his near point-per-game career at the AHL level into an NHL job this year. If Lindholm doesn’t crack the second line, he could end up centering or playing on the wing on the third line. He’s entering his second NHL season should be more than ready to take on a bigger role. Finishing out the third-line on the wings will be Patrick Dwyer and either Gerbe or Boychuk. On the fourth-line could be former Maple Leafs’ centre Jay McClement filling the centre spot that belonged to a similar player in Manny Malhotra last year, with possibly Boychuk and Riley Nash on the wings. Other forwards looking to make the team will be veterans Brad Malone, Ben Holmstrom, and Chris Terry, along with prospects Greg Nemisz, Victor Rask, and rookie Brock McGinn.

The only change to the defense that was made this season was bringing back Tim Gleason, who Carolina had traded to the Maple Leafs for John-Michael Liles last year. Gleason was bought out of the remaining two-years, $8 million by the Leafs and re-signed with Carolina on an inexpensive one-year, $1.2 million deal. The first-pairing will likely see Justin Faulk teamed up with Andrej Sekera, with the second-pairing being Liles and Ryan Murphy or Ron Hainsey. On the final pairing will be Gleason with Murphy/Hainsey or Jay Harrison. Murphy, who is an offensive specialist, will be looking to stick with the team, while Harrison is better served for a seventh defenseman role. Other defensemen who will be looking to make the Hurricanes’ roster are the big bodied Brett Bellemore, as well as rookie prospect Hayden Fleury.

In goal there are is one big question that needs answering, who is the starter? When you look in terms of reputation and the fact his cap hit is $6.3 million, you would assume it would be Cam Ward, but when you look at the statistical performances, the edge moves more towards  Anton Khudobin. Over the last two years Ward has struggled with injuries, playing in only 47 of 130 games. Because of the injuries, Ward has also struggled on the ice as well, posting a 2.84 goals against average and a .908 save percentage through 17 games in 2012-13 and a 3.06 goals against average and a .898 save percentage through 30 games last season. Compare that to Khudobin’s performance last season, a 2.30 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in 36 games, and you really start to wonder if Carolina might be better off with the lesser known player. Ward will more than likely be given the reigns to start the season, he’s earned the benefit of the doubt with the level of play he  has been able to maintain throughout his career, but his leash might not be very long. Behind Ward and Khudobin at the AHL level the Hurricanes brought in journeyman Drew MacIntyre to be the starter down there, something in which he’s excelled at throughout his career.

By not making significant changes to the same core that has missed the playoffs for five years in a row, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the Hurricanes make the playoffs this season. Any chance that they have rests on the shoulders of their forward core finally coming together.  Helping their cause would be Ward returning to all-star form. It seems like a hefty task, one that they will probably fail at, and will instead be a team with plenty of skilled trade chips to start a re-tooling. Expect the Hurricanes to finish somewhere between the eighth seed and the thirteenth seed in the East, with the latter being more realistic.

Written by Greg Stamper, who can be found on twitter @g_stamp91.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Jiri Tlusty – Eric Staal – Alexander Semin
Jeff Skinner – Jordan Staal – Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe – Jay McClement – Patrick Dwyer
Zach Boychuk – Riley Nash – Brad Malone
Chris Terry

DEFENSEMEN
Andrej Sekera – Justin Faulk
Ron Hainsey – Ryan Murphy
John-Michael Liles – Jay Harrison
Tim Gleason

GOALTENDERS
Cam Ward
Anton Khudobin

Forwards POS HT WT DOB BIRTH PLACE
Patrick Dwyer R 5′ 11″ 175 22-Jun-83 SPOKANE, WA, USA
Nathan Gerbe L 5′ 5″ 178 24-Jul-87 OXFORD, MI, USA
Elias Lindholm C 6′ 1″ 192 2-Dec-94 BODEN, SWE
Brad Malone C 6′ 2″ 207 20-May-89 MIRAMICHI, NB, CAN
Jay Mcclement C 6′ 1″ 205 2-Mar-83 KINGSTON, ON, CAN
Riley Nash C 6′ 1″ 200 9-May-89 CONSORT, AB, CAN
Alexander Semin R 6′ 2″ 209 3-Mar-84 KRASNOJARSK, RUS
Jeff Skinner L 5′ 11″ 200 16-May-92 TORONTO, ON, CAN
Eric Staal C 6′ 4″ 205 29-Oct-84 THUNDER BAY, ON, CAN
Jordan Staal C 6′ 4″ 220 10-Sep-88 THUNDER BAY, ON, CAN
Jiri Tlusty L 6′ 0″ 209 16-Mar-88 SLANY, CZE
Defense HT WT AGE DOB BIRTH PLACE
Brett Bellemore 6′ 4″ 225 26 25-Jun-88 WINDSOR, ON, CAN
Justin Faulk 6′ 0″ 215 22 20-Mar-92 SOUTH ST.PAUL, MN, USA
Tim Gleason 6′ 0″ 217 31 29-Jan-83 CLAWSON, MI, USA
Ron Hainsey 6′ 3″ 210 33 24-Mar-81 BOLTON, CT, USA
Jay Harrison 6′ 4″ 220 31 3-Nov-82 OSHAWA, ON, CAN
John-Michael Liles 5′ 10″ 185 33 25-Nov-80 INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA
Andrej Sekera 6′ 0″ 201 28 8-Jun-86 BOJNICE, SVK
Goalies HT WT AGE DOB BIRTH PLACE
Anton Khudobin 5′ 11″ 203 28 7-May-86 UST-KAMENOGORSK, KAZ
Cam Ward 6′ 1″ 185 30 29-Feb-84 SASKATOON, SK, CAN

A look at the Carolina Hurricanes top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

RK NHL.com ESPN
Corey Pronman
Dobber Prospects Hockeys Future The Hockey News
1 Brock McGinn Haydn Fleury Haydn Fleury Elias Lindholm Haydn Fleury
2 Haydn Fleury Lucas Wallmark Ryan Murphy Haydn Fleury Brock McGinn
3 Phil Di Giuseppe Sergey Tolchinsky Sergey Tolchinsky Ryan Murphy Alex Nedeljkovic
4 Victor Rask Victor Rask Victor Rask Alex Nedeljkovic Michael Jordan
5 Jaccob Slavin Clark Bishop Phil Di Giuseppe Brock McGinn Victor Rask
6 Brett Pesce Alex Nedeljkovic Brock McGinn Victor Rask Trevor Carrick
7 Trevor Carrick Jaccob Slavin Warren Foegele Daniel Altshuller Phil Di Giuseppe
8 Erik Karlsson Brock McGinn Brent Pedersen Jaccob Slavin Brett Pesce
9 Alex Nedeljkovic Phil Di Giuseppe Erik Karlsson Trevor Carrick Sergey Tolchinsky
10 Collin Olson Trevor Carrick Daniel Altshuller Brett Pesce Daniel Altshuller

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

Carolina Hurricanes Draft History from the past five years

2014 Draft
Rd. Draft # Player Pos. Team Ht. Wt.
1 7 Haydn Fleury D Red Deer (WHL) 6′ 2″ 204
2 37 Alex Nedeljkovic G Plymouth (OHL) 6′ 0″ 185
3 67 Warren Foegele LW St. Andrews HS (ON) 6′ 0″ 178
4 96 Josh Wesley D Plymouth (OHL) 6′ 2″ 194
4 97 Lucas Wallmark C Lulea (SWE) 6′ 0″ 176
5 127 Clark Bishop C Cape Breton (QMJHL) 5′ 11″ 182
7 187 Kyle Jenkins D Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) 6′ 0″ 166
2013 Draft
1 5 Elias Lindholm C/RW Brynäs (SWE) 6′ 0″ 190
3 66 Brett Pesce D New Hampshire (H-East) 6′ 3″ 170
5 126 Brent Pedersen LW Kitchener (OHL ) 6′ 2″ 205
6 156 Tyler Ganly D Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) 6′ 1″ 201
2012 Draft
2 38 Phillip DiGiuseppe LW Michigan (CCHA) 5’11” 175
2 47 Brock McGinn LW Guelph (OHL) 5’11” 175
3 69 Daniel Altshuller G Oshawa (OHL) 6′ 3″ 193
4 99 Erik Karlsson LW Frolunda HC (Swe) 5’11” 165
4 115 Trevor Carrick D Mississauga St. Michael’s (OHL) 6′ 2″ 172
4 120 Jacob Slavin D Chicago (USHL) 6′ 1″ 170
5 129 Bendan Woods LW U of Wisconsin 6′ 2″ 190
6 159 Collin Olson G USA U-18 6′ 3″ 197
7 189 Brandan Collier LW Malden Catholic HS (MA) 5′ 9″ 168
2011 Draft
1 12 Ryan Murphy D Kitchener (OHL) 5’10” 165
2 42 Victor Rask C Leksands (Swe) 6′ 2″ 194
3 73 Keegan Lowe D Edmonton (WHL) 6′ 0″ 168
4 103 Gregory Hofmann C Ambri Jr. ( SWISS-JR. ) 6′ 0″ 170
6 163 Matt Mahalak G Plymouth (OHL) 6′ 2″ 183
7 193 Brody Sutter C Lethbridge (WHL) 6′ 4″ 190
2010 Draft
1 7 Jeff Skinner C Kitchener (OHL) 5’10” 195
2 37 Justin Faulk D USA U-18 5’11” 185
2 53 Mark Alt D Cretin-Derham 6′ 2″ 194
3 67 Danny Biega D Harvard U. 6′ 0″ 191
3 85 Austin Levi D Plymouth 6′ 3″ 192
4 105 Justin Shugg LW Windsor 5’11” 184
6 167 Tyler Stahl D Chilliwack 6′ 1″ 180
7 187 Fredrik Anderson G Frederikshavn 6′ 4″ 220
Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%
Eric Staal 79 21 40 61 -13 74 1 2 0 230 9.1
Jeff Skinner 71 33 21 54 -14 22 11 0 6 274 12
Andrej Sekera 74 11 33 44 4 20 4 1 1 142 7.7
Alexander Semin 65 22 20 42 1 42 6 1 3 210 10.5
Jordan Staal 82 15 25 40 2 34 2 1 2 165 9.1
Justin Faulk 76 5 27 32 -9 37 2 0 1 152 3.3
Nathan Gerbe 81 16 15 31 -6 36 3 2 1 221 7.2
Jiri Tlusty 68 16 14 30 2 22 0 2 5 131 12.2
Riley Nash 73 10 14 24 0 29 1 0 3 86 11.6
Patrick Dwyer 75 8 14 22 -2 14 0 2 2 134 6
Elias Lindholm 58 9 12 21 -14 4 4 0 2 70 12.9
Tuomo Ruutu 57 5 11 16 -19 34 2 0 1 79 6.3
Ron Hainsey 82 4 11 15 -9 45 0 0 1 72 5.6
Jay Harrison 68 4 11 15 -1 44 1 0 1 103 3.9
Manny Malhotra 69 7 6 13 0 18 0 0 1 53 13.2
Drayson Bowman 70 4 8 12 -2 16 0 0 0 80 5
Ryan Murphy 48 2 10 12 -9 10 1 0 0 81 2.5
Andrei Loktionov 20 3 7 10 -4 2 2 0 1 34 8.8
Radek Dvorak 60 4 5 9 3 41 0 0 2 52 7.7
John-Michael Liles 35 2 7 9 7 8 1 0 0 51 3.9
Brett Bellemore 64 2 6 8 -1 45 0 0 0 54 3.7
Mike Komisarek 32 0 4 4 -4 14 0 0 0 20 0
Zach Boychuk 11 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
Brett Sutter 17 1 1 2 -4 9 0 0 1 16 6.3
Chris Terry 10 0 2 2 -4 0 0 0 0 13 0
Tim Gleason 17 0 1 1 -7 10 0 0 0 15 0
Kevin Westgarth 12 0 0 0 -2 4 0 0 0 6 0
Aaron Palushaj 2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Goalies GPI GS MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV%
Anton Khudobin 36 34 2084 2.30 19 14 1 1 1076 80 0.926
Cam Ward 30 28 1645 3.06 10 12 6 0 824 84 0.898
Justin Peters 21 20 1225 2.50 7 9 4 1 626 51 0.919

Performance and Usage Charts for the Carolina Hurricanes from last season, from Extra Skater.

Media links were put together by Patrick Clarke, who can be found on twitter @PatrickClarke

Blogs

Triangle Sports Network (Independent)

CanesCountry (SB Nation)

Section328 (Independent)

Misc

MSM Coverage

News and Observer

Misc

Podcasts

Cheaters Never Win Podcast from Section 328

Canes Weekly Podcast

Organization

Carolina Hurricanes

Players & Prospects on Twitter and Instagram

Hurricanes Front Office on Twitter

Hurricanes Broadcasters on Twitter

Hurricanes Communications and Marketing on Twitter

Charlotte Checkers: AHL Affiliate

Checkers Staff on Twitter

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