Offseason Review: Carolina Hurricanes

Now that the dust has settled on a wild NHL offseason, let's take a look at how each team did in regards to drafting and free-agent signings. Today, we'll look at the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina made some unusual choices this summer, and one has to wonder if an internal salary cap was in any way a factor. The loss of Dougie Hamilton was expected, the Hurricanes gave their player formal approval to discuss a new contract with other teams over a month before free agency opened, hoping to find another club to work out a sign-and-trade deal with. That didn't happen, but you can't fault them for trying. On the other hand, trading away Alex Nedeljkovic, the goaltender who helped carry them through the playoffs, to Detroit in exchange for Jonathan Bernier (who then went and signed with the Devils) was a head-scratcher. Nedeljkovic was seen as the goalie of the future in Carolina after his stellar 2021 season. Yet reports are that Carolina was concerned about Nedeljkovic taking the team to arbitration and forcing their hand on signing him for more money than they could afford. The rumor was that Nedeljkovic would be awarded more than the 2-year, $3 million he signed for in Detroit, and one can only hope that was the case because it's hard to see any sense in this trade otherwise.

With a big hole in net caused only by their own decisions, let's see how the Hurricanes made out afterward.

Free Agency:

Before they hit free agency, Carolina extended Morgan Geekie and Jordan Martinook to new contracts, Then, likely due to the impending loss of Dougie Hamilton, the Canes traded Warren Foegele to Edmonton in exchange for defenceman Ethan Bear. Then they went to work on their goaltending, picking up Freddie Andersen and Antti Raanta at 2 years each. Both of these goalies have shown the ability to be NHL starters, but both also have a long history of injuries that have impeded their careers. The Canes then signed controversial defenceman Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract, once again to try and fill in for Hamilton's departure. They also added C.J. Smith, Josh Leivo, Brendan Smith, Derek Stepan, and Stefan Noesen to their roster. Once free agency settled down, the Canes went out and signed Sam Miletic, Jalen Chatfield, Maxim Letunov, and Josh Jacobs to two-way deals. They also signed goalie Alex Lyon out of Philadelphia, and brought in Dylan Wells from Edmonton in exchange for future considerations. Lastly, the Canes traded Jake Bean to Colombus on Draft day in exchange for a 2nd-round pick.

Grade: C+; The Canes did their best to replace what they lost to free agency, but it's hard to look at this roster and say it's better than - or even equivalent to - what they iced last season.

Draft:

At one point the Hurricanes had two 1st round picks in the 2021 Draft. One went to the Rangers in exchange for Brady Skjei way back in February, and the other was sent to Nashville as Carolina traded themselves out of the first round in exchange for two picks in the second. After waiting patiently until day 2 of the draft, Carolina picked Scott Morrow at 40th overall, a big, fast defenceman with enticing offensive instincts. At 44th overall, they selected another defender, Aleksi Heimosalmi, whose excellent skating ability and strong positioning pushed him up this year's draft rankings. At 51st overall, Carolina picked Ville Koivunen, a player out of the same development program as Sebastian Aho. Koivunen is a high-skill forward whose constant creativity results in frequent attempts at high-level plays. He hasn't put it all together yet, but there's a lot of upside to this pick by the Canes. At 83rd overall, the Hurricanes took Czech goalie Patrik Hamrla, and at 94th overall, took another defenceman in Aidan Hreschuk. Not a bad haul for a team with no 1st rounders to speak of. The Canes are gambling on the uncertainty factor of this year's draft, and it may just pay off for them.

Grade: B+; The Canes gambled on quantity in the Draft this year, and may have found some quality as a result. There are a lot of question marks surrounding their new prospects, but the odds of a few panning out seem fairly high given Carolina's previous track record.

Overall grade: B-; It's hard to say exactly what the Hurricanes were doing this offseason, and they took a few gambles that may not pay off. That said, the pipeline is stacked with potential, and with the team already being competitive, there's some reason for Canes' fans to stay positive heading into 2021-2022.

What do you think of Carolina's moves this offseason?

Photo credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports