Which Hurricanes will return? After second-round loss, Carolina begins looking forward
Beaten in Game 7 by the New York Rangers on Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes lined up for the traditional postgame handshake line that ends every playoff series.
The question now: How many of those Canes players soon will be shaking hands with teammates they’ll not be seeing in the home locker room next season?
It’s an inevitable question. The Canes’ season ended with a 6-2 loss to the Rangers, and it didn’t take long to turn the page and start thinking of next season and the guesswork of how the roster and lineup will shake out.
“I’d love to keep all these guys and come back at it again, but it’s probably not going to happen,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday. “That’s just the way it goes.”
Forwards Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Max Domi and Derek Stepan are due to become unrestricted free agents. So, too, are defensemen Ian Cole and Brendan Smith.
Forwards Martin Necas and Steven Lorentz are restricted free agents along with defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Ethan Bear. Their negotiations with management could be interesting.
There’s going to be change. But, how much?
“We said this last year and we got nine new guys,” Brind’Amour said. “You don’t know how it’s going to work out. Hockey’s a business and guys got to do what they’ve got to do.”
Last summer’s changes
The Canes went through an extensive makeover before this season. They restructured their goaltending, signing Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. They added Stepan, Cole and Smith, three veteran players and free agents, on one-year contracts. They traded Warren Foegele to Edmonton for Bear.
The Canes did not re-sign defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who became the top free agent on the market. Instead, Carolina signed DeAngelo to a one-year, $1 million free-agent contract despite considerable backlash from some of their fans who were unhappy with DeAngelo’s past.
In a surprising move, Carolina made an offer sheet for Montreal’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Canes then added the center when the Canadiens did not match the one-year, $6.1 million offer.
Another new face: forward Seth Jarvis. The rookie quickly impressed with his speed, skill and willingness to play big despite being a smaller guy, making the Canes’ roster.
Once together, the Hurricanes won a franchise-record 54 games and set a record with 116 points in winning the Metropolitan Division. Everyone, from Brind’Amour down, said their only goal was winning the Stanley Cup. They believed they could do it.
“It’s frustrating, it’s definitely a bummer, to have the caliber of the team we had and not go farther,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said Monday.
Slavin, in a somber tone, noted it was a close team, one that enjoyed playing and competing together, that enjoyed each other’s company.
“The group of guys we have is awesome,” Slavin said. “Management and the coaching staff have done a great job of bringing in high-quality hockey players and high-quality people as well.
“We’ll see how things shake out in the offseason. It’s a bummer. If some of those guys aren’t back it’s a bummer because we have such a tight-knit group in there.”
Difficult decisions
Canes general manager Don Waddell will have tough decisions to make. Will Trocheck or Niederreiter be re-signed? What about DeAngelo, who replaced Hamilton’s offense with 10 goals and 51 points?
Necas had an inconsistent third NHL season. How does he figure in the Canes’ plans moving forward? Or Bear, who didn’t get in a game for the Canes in the playoffs?
Andrei Svechnikov and Kotkaniemi have been signed to long-term contracts — Svechnikov for $7.75 million per year and Kotkaniemi for $4.82 million. But there will be cap issues to resolve in fitting together a lineup for 2022-23, and players will be moved in and out.
But Monday night, their season over in such a disappointing fashion, it was tough for the Canes to try and contemplate such things.
“We had a lot of fun together,” center Sebastian Aho said. “Every day was awesome to come to the rink and be with this group.
“It (stinks) obviously that every time you’re done, you know there’s not going to be the same guys. But it’s part of hockey. And life goes on.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 6:12 AM.
