Carolina Hurricanes: 2 Biggest Surprises Of The Season So Far

Every NHL team has now played 20 games this season, so we are starting to get a better understanding of what to expect from them moving forward. There have been certain players who have been big surprises thus far and it feels fair to shine a light on them. In this series, we will be looking at two from each team who certainly can be classified as that.

In this piece, we will be looking at the Carolina Hurricanes. Initially, it seemed that they had a poor offseason, but these two additions have been proving most hockey fans wrongs so far. They are major reasons why the Hurricanes are off to another fantastic start this campaign.

Frederik Andersen: After a hard year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, goaltender Frederik Andersen is putting up a Vezina Trophy caliber season with the Carolina Hurricanes. In 19 games so far, he has a 14-5-0 record, 1.93 GAA and .930 SV%. Keep in mind, he had an .895 SV% with the Leafs last season, so there were certainly some questions heading into this campaign. However, Andersen has been worth every single penny with Carolina and isn't showing signs of slowing down.

Tony DeAngelo: Carolina taking a gamble of Tony DeAngelo has worked out wonderfully for them so far. In 20 games, he has four goals and 19 points. He's been an excellent replacement for Dougie Hamilton and is currently $8 million cheaper than him. Although DeAngelo's tenure with the Rangers ended with controversy, there's no denying that he has been exceeding expectations immensely thus far. Although he's due for a big raise next summer, he will still be a restricted free agent for Carolina, so they shouldn't have too much trouble re-signing him from here. One has to assume they will.