Hurricanes News

[DaveG-Canes]

offseason analysis:
Some major changes were forced this past offseason for Carolina. Longtime mainstay Joni Pitkanen was allowed to walk in free agency due to cap constraints but things aren't all bleak there. Nikolai Glukhov at 23 is ready for his shot at the show and has excellent playmaking potential as well as the ability to be a punishing physical defenseman long-term. In addition 2016 first rounder Kale Clague is ready to start his pro career in Charlotte and very well may see some action in the show by years end.

Up front the addition of Simon Gagne down the middle on a one-year deal adds a ton of flexibility to the Canes lineup to the point that they can now roll 4 lines that can put up the points. The top line will remain the same going in to next season but it's expected that there will be major change throughout the rest of the lineup:
Boychuk - Staal - Pulkkinen
Penner - Sutter - Nic Roy
Rychel - Gagne - Athanasiou
Eiserman - Stone - Brown
Markkula, Palmieri

Also of note, the draft added some solid depth to the organization.
LW Joel Farabee is a scoring threat and should eventually slot in the the role that Boychuk currently plays in the org and D Jacob Bernard-Docker projects as a specialist offensive dman long-term. C Ivan Muranov and RW Ruslan Ishkakov also should provide a good bit of depth long-term to the lineup and G Joel Hofer is likely to be a solid starter in the AHL.