NHL Preview 2019-20: Carolina Hurricanes

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen).

GM: Don Wadell (since 2018). 7.5/10
Coach: Rod Brind'Amour (since 2018). 7.5/10

2018-19 record: 46-29-7, 99 points (4th in Metropolitan Division, 7th in Eastern Conference).
Playoffs: Lost in the Eastern Conference Final in four games against Boston

Departures: Scott Darling (G), Curtis McElhinney (G), Justin Williams (RW), Calvin De Haan (D), Adam Fox (D), Nicolas Roy (C), Micheal Ferland (LW), Aleksi Saarela (C), Justin Faulk (D).

Arrivals: James Reimer (G), Erik Haula (C), Ryan Dzingel (LW), Gustav Forsling (D), Anton Forsberg (G), Joel Edmundson (D).

Top forwards: Sebastian Aho (70-85 points), Teuvo Teravainen (70-75 points), Andrei Svechnikov (20 goals and 40-50 points), Nino Niederreiter (40-50 points), Jordan Staal (40 points), Ryan Dzingel (30-40 points), Erik Haula (30-40 points), Warren Foegele (30-40 points), Martin Necas (30-40 points).

Must-improve forward: Not sure if he'll improve, but it sure seems like Staal has plateaued and started to regress.

Top defensemen: Dougie Hamilton (45-55 points), Jaccob Slavin (40-50 points), Jake Gardiner (35-50 points), Joel Edmundson (20-30 points), Brett Pesce (15-20 points).

Goalies: Scott Darling (75/100), Mrazek (73/100).

Top prospects: Haydn Fleury (23 years old, D, former first-round pick), Julien Gauthier (21, RW, 2016 first-round draft pick), Martin Necas (20, C, 2017 first-round draft pick), Ryan Suzuki (18, C), Jesper Sellgren (21, D), Jake Bean (21, D, 2016 first-round draft pick), Dominik Bokk (19, LW/RW).

Analysis:
Good on them for gaining experience by making a deep run in the playoffs, but without Justin Williams to lead the way - and without a captain wearing the "C" in replacement - they may very well regress.


The fact that they have no true #1 goalie is a huge problem in a division where seemingly every other team improved by a fair margin. If they do not acquire a true "name" goalie, they will be at the bottom of the standings; if they nab one before CHristmas, they're a Wild Card team again.

Prediction: 7th in the Metropolitan Division, 24th in the NHL (without an improvement in net).