Carolina Hurricanes hope to storm Eastern Conference
Since the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2005-06 they have made a habit of following a horrible season with a lengthy post-season run.
The two years after their Cup victory the Hurricanes failed to qualify for the post season. The following season however, the Hurricanes qualified for the play-offs and went all the way to the Conference Finals before they were eliminated by the eventual Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately last season the Hurricanes finished 11th, once again following a productive season, with a season of disappointment.
General Manager Jim Rutherford is hoping that his line-up, which is nearly exactly the same as last season, will be able to make another magical push deep into the play-offs.
Roster Changes
The Hurricanes have undergone almost no roster changes this off-season. Rutherford is not known to drastically transform his line-ups, but rather tweak them, keeping the core relatively the same.
This off-season Carolina brought back defencemen Joe Corvo, and will have youngster Jamie McBain in the line-up full time, after the rookie played the end of the 2009-10 campaign with the big club.
Last season Rutherford also traded for former Toronto Maple Leaf Jiri Tlusty, who should be a staple on the roster in 2010-11.
The Hurricanes did lose a couple veteran forwards in Ray Whitney, Rod Brind’Amour, and defensive forward Matt Cullen.
Forward
The first line will features captain, and all-star centre Eric Staal, along with wingers Chad Larose, and Erik Cole, while the second line will house Tuomo Ruutu at centre, with Sergei Samsonov and Jussi Jokinen playing the wings. The third line will be made up mostly of youngsters, with Brandon Sutter centring, flanked by Jiri Tlusty, and one of Tom Kostopoulos or Pat Dwyer. The fourth line for the Canes is still up for grabs, as Rutherford has a little bit more work to do on the free agent market in order to fill out his roster.
Defence
The Carolina defence does not look impressive on paper, however, every year they figure out a way to get it done. Rutherford is hoping that this year’s group will be able to hold down the fort.
The first defensive pairing should be made up of Joni Pitkanen, and Tim Gleason. The second unit should feature Joe Corvo and Anton Babchuk, and the third and final unit will have youngster McBain, and it is not yet clear who will be filling the sixth and final spot.
Goalie
The Hurricanes are blessed with an incredibly skilled goaltender in Cam Ward. Ward is one of the League’s premier net-minders and will be expected to make 70-plus starts next season.
Regrettably for the Hurricanes Ward has been injury prone over the last couple seasons. The back-up for next season is slotted to be Justin Peters, who has very little NHL experience. Rutherford will have to hope that Ward is able to stay healthy; otherwise he may be searching for a goalie mid-season.
Can the Canes get back to the post-season?
It difficult to say how good the Hurricanes are going to be on a year-to-year basis, every season Rutherford seems to come back with the same line-up and every year they perform at different levels.
Nevertheless, the Hurricanes are going to need Ward to stay healthy, and stand on his head if they hope to do damage in the Eastern Conference.
The Canes are aided by the fact that the Southeast division is weak when compared to the rest of the Conference, so they will need to take advantage of division games.
Expect the Hurricanes to battle between the eight and 10 spots all season, cutting it close near the end, but missing out on the play-offs for the second season in a row.
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