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NHL Off-Season Rankings: No. 16, Carolina Hurricanes
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The Carolina Hurricanes come in at No. 16 on TheHockeyNews.com’s NHL off-season rankings. The Stanley Cup champions are running it back with a very similar group of players, but is Carolina prepared to go for back-to-back Cups this year?
When you’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, you’ve answered critics and rewarded those who believed in you
But winning the Cup is one thing, and building on that championship in the off-season is another. Despite winning it all, the Carolina Hurricanes have had a mediocre summer
The Hurricanes will be entering a season with a target on their back, and with minimal changes from general manager Eric Tulsky, they’ll need their depth and determination to carry over to replicate their outstanding ‘25-26 campaign
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Let’s analyze Tulsky’s decisions from this summer and discuss why the Hurricanes are ranked 16th on TheHockeyNews.com’s off-season rankings
If any team should run it back with nearly an identical roster, it’s the defending champions. While Hurricanes fans would love to see Tulsky spend to the cap ceiling, they must be patient before he steps up and takes a big swing
That swing might involve Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck or a replacement for young defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who is an RFA yet to sign a new contract for next season
thehockeynews.comFive Teams That Should Target Alexander Nikishin In A TradeCarolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin is rumored to be moving on from the Stanley Cup champions before the 2026-27 season starts. Which teams around the league make sense as prospective landing spots?
Making moves for the sake of making moves doesn’t put you high in these rankings. Sometimes it’s better to embrace the status quo, and that’s what Tulsky has done this summer.
That said, even Cup-winning teams aren’t perfect. Ideally, if you’re a Hurricanes fan, you probably wanted to see at least a couple minor changes. There‘s still time for that to happen, but things seem quiet
Carolina doesn’t need to make a blockbuster move, but patience is a virtue with Tulsky. If they do target a needle-mover, Tulsky has the cap space and trade assets (including Nikishin) to make such a move a reality.
Frederik Andersen (G), Mike Reilly (D), Charles Alexis Legault (D)
Other than their slight drop-off in defensive depth, the Hurricanes’ biggest departure is Frederik Andersen, who had a Jekyll-and-Hyde season
He posted an .874 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average in 35 regular-season appearances, then dominated for the first three playoff rounds before struggling in the Cup final against the Vegas Golden Knights
Andersen’s collapse forced Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour to turn to rookie Brandon Bussi to carry them the rest of the way
thehockeynews.comHow Frederik Andersen Compares To The Edmonton Oilers’ Past StartersIt’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers have had goaltending issues throughout the Connor McDavid era, but with the signing of Frederik Andersen, have they solved them?
Despite having more than enough cap space to retain Andersen, the Hurricanes allowed him to walk in free agency, signing with the Edmonton Oilers on a prove-it (again), one-year contract worth $1-million
Rather than targeting a more established No. 1 goaltender, the Canes have seemingly chosen Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov as their tandem. Time will tell if this strategy will work out, but the Hurricanes’ biggest question seems to be between the pipes
Tulsky and his analytical approach created a young group that’ll be in contention for the Stanley Cup for quite some time. Adding the fact they have one of the game’s best coaches in Brind’Amour, Carolina has virtually everything you want
Even if there’s improvement from other Metropolitan Division teams, the Hurricanes enter next season on a higher competitive level than the organizations surrounding them.
If Carolina trades for a netminder like Hellebuyck, or maybe for someone like St. Louis Blues veteran Jordan Binnington, there’s a strong chance they will be the odds-on favorite to go back-to-back
If the stars line up just right, the rest of the league could have great difficulty knocking off the Canes and preventing them from establishing a dynasty
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