Are the Canes in trouble this offseason?
The Carolina Hurricanes are quickly developing a reputation among players in the league. This team simply does not overpay to keep their players. The Canes demonstrated this last season when they allowed unrestricted free agent Dougie Hamilton to walk and also permitted the exit (in one way or another) of all three of their netminders from the 2020-21 season.
Their offseason approach has not changed in one year's time. The team is allowing restricted free agent Tony DeAngelo to speak with other teams and "shop his services." Since he is an RFA, a trade and sign would be the most likely option for the controversial, yet very talented defenseman. DeAngelo posted 10 goals and 41 assists for 51 points this season.
Furthermore, the Hurricanes are not close on a deal with RFA forward Martin Necas. The 23 year old winger has been paramount in the Canes Top 6 and an excellent assist man on the powerplay. He had 40 points this season (14 goals 26 assists), which was a drop off from his career high of 41 points in the shortened 20-21 season.
Forwards Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter are upcoming UFAs and both players plan to test the market. They had 51 and 44 points for Carolina, respectively, this season.
The Carolina Hurricanes may look very different next season. Their goalie gamble from the previous year worked out just fine with Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta winning the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against) this year.
Time will tell how this narrative with come to an end. Will the Canes be a habitual contender, or will their apparent frugality come back and bite them?
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Nikita Grebenkin | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||