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New York Times
a day ago
- Business
- New York Times
Hurricanes have the roster and cap space to pull off a very memorable offseason
RALEIGH, N.C. — For the second time in three seasons and third time since Rod Brind'Amour took over as coach in 2018-19, the Carolina Hurricanes' season ended just short of the Stanley Cup Final with a loss in the conference final. And so begins another offseason of Carolina attempting to find the missing pieces that will get them over the hump. The good news for rookie GM Eric Tulsky? He'll enter his second year on the job with a lot more flexibility and without an expected exodus of key players — along with a boatload of cap space and assets with which to get creative. Advertisement Unlike last summer, when the Hurricanes lost Jake Guentzel, Stefan Noesen, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Teuvo Teravainen — all key contributors — due to a cap crunch, Carolina doesn't have a lot of in-house business to take care of this summer. At forward, Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic are the only full-time contributing forwards who are on expiring deals. The contracts of Jesper Fast and Tyson Jost — injured for the season and a depth player, respectively — also come off the books; Jost could remain a depth option. Despite having a 22-goal, 39-point season, Roslovic's time in Raleigh is very likely over. He was a healthy scratch in six of Carolina's 15 playoff games, but his goal total — 17 of which came before the calendar flipped to 2025 —will surely intrigue some teams looking for secondary scoring. Robinson, on the other hand, was a perfect fit in Brind'Amour's system. He too did much of his damage early in the season — nine of his 14 goals and 20 of his 32 points came in the first three months — but his contributions on the penalty kill and as a bottom-six forward were valuable. There should be a path for Robinson and the Hurricanes to renew their partnership. On defense, veterans Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov were second and fourth, respectively, in average ice time for Carolina this season, combining for nearly 41 minutes a night. Both are now headed toward free agency, and with them goes more than $14 million in salary cap obligations. Both had their ups and downs this season. Burns, once one of hockey's elite point-producing defensemen, had less than half the amount of points this season (29) than he did two years ago in his first year in Raleigh (61). Orlov was statistically consistent, but his defensive play was often erratic. Still, both were valuable top-four contributors and a key part of the NHL's top penalty kill. That said, there is youth coming (more on that in a moment), and unless Burns and Orlov are willing to take a haircut on their salary and accept a diminished role, chances are the team will move on from them. Carolina got a glimpse at the future of its defense when Brind'Amour's hand was forced in the playoffs due to injuries to Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker. They know they have a stud in Alexander Nikishin, who went from being lost in his first career NHL game — Game 5 against the Capitals and one of his idols, Alexander Ovechkin — but quickly improved. Scott Morrow had a solid first professional season in the AHL but looked overwhelmed at times when thrust into the NHL playoffs. Advertisement Both are good enough to hold down spots next season — Nikishin for sure — but the Hurricanes will need to decide if they can afford to replace two seen-everything veterans with a pair of rookies. The other young player to watch is Bradly Nadeau, who scored 32 goals and had 58 points in 64 games with the Chicago Wolves as a first-year pro. He can fill the net — a need for Carolina — but his 200-foot game is a work in progress. He'll need to have a more impressive training camp than last season to earn a roster spot. The expected departures and a bump in the cap ceiling mean the Hurricanes should have more than $28 million in space with which to add to their roster — and not many holes to fill. If Nadeau, Nikishin and Morrow all make the team out of camp, Carolina would have 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies. The Hurricanes also don't have many big-ticket items coming up after next season. Mark Jankowski and Frederik Andersen will be UFAs. Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, Morrow and Nikishin will be RFAs, with only Nikishin holding arbitration rights. That means Carolina is poised to be a big player this offseason. Mitch Marner is expected to be the biggest name on the market, and he fits the archetype of what the Hurricanes are looking for: an elite point producer who can boost a power play. The bonus with Marner is that he's also a reliable penalty killer. Of course, Marner will be pursued by several teams willing to give him a blank check. Also, Carolina hasn't exactly been predictable with its moves. The combination of cap space, draft picks — two extra first-round picks from the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to Dallas — and assets means Tulsky can get creative with what he and the front office pursue. Let's say, for example, the Hurricanes want to get a top-pairing defenseman to play alongside Slavin. They could potentially use assets like Morrow and a first-round pick to acquire such a player. Advertisement What if Carolina had its eye on an impact forward on the trade market? The team's wealth of young forwards could be used to upgrade the top of its lineup, and low-priced talent will be attractive to teams looking to clear cap space while still getting back a player who can contribute in the present. In a nutshell, the Hurricanes have the means to do a lot of things if they can find the right fit. Since Tom Dundon took over as owner, the Hurricanes haven't been shy about being a bit ruthless, and this summer could see more of that. If Carolina wants to shake up its roster, that won't mean just bringing more players in — some will have to head out too. Jesperi Kotkaniemi's contract has four years at under $5 million, and a team desperate for size down the middle could look back on Washington's acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois and think there's a reclamation project in the making. Could the defense be reworked if an upgrade comes along? Don't forget how the Hurricanes traded away Calvin de Haan after just one season of the four-year contract they gave him. While Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov are locked in on reasonable contracts, if an upgrade came along, would anyone be surprised to see Carolina pounce? The fact is, no one usually sees what's coming from the Hurricanes. From the Guentzel, Burns and (both) Rantanen trades, to the signing of Orlov and the blockbuster deal that started it all — Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to Calgary for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox — Carolina isn't afraid to make noise. Without any roadblocks other than negotiating with agents or rival GMs, this Hurricanes offseason has the potential to be the wildest one yet. (Top photo of Alexander Nikishin and Dmitry Orlov: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
National Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
Why Panthers coach Paul Maurice skipped the handshake line with the Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers Coach Paul Maurice and Carolina Hurricanes Coach Rod Brind'Amour appeared to have words with each other after the Panthers ended the Hurricanes' season with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, and neither coaching staff took part in the handshake line that traditionally caps the final game of a Stanley Cup playoff series. Article content Article content Article content But after the game, Maurice said there wasn't any ill-will after a typically hard-hitting playoff series. Article content Instead, he seems to be on a crusade to get coaches out of the centre-ice handshake line that has been a staple of the NHL postseason for decades. Article content That's what his conversation with Brind'Amour was about, he said. Article content 'I don't believe that the coaches should shake players' hands at the end,' Maurice said. 'There's this long list of people in suits and track suits. We had like 400 people on the ice. They're all really important to our group. But not one of them was in the game.' Article content 'There's something for me visually, with the camera on just the men who played, blocked shots, fought for each other, it's end of one's season, it's excitement for the other,' Maurice said. 'The last thing that a player on the Carolina Hurricanes deserves is 50 more guys in suits, they have no idea who they are and that's not a negative. There's something really kind of beautiful about just the camera on those men who played shaking hands. And we should respect that.' Article content This isn't anything new from Maurice, who also did not participate in the postgame center-ice handshake line after the Panthers' second-round win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Article content 'We talked to (Maple Leafs coach) Craig Berube on the ice in Toronto, and figured if I can sell it in Toronto,' Maurice said. 'And he understood it, because he's played, and (Brind'Amour's) played, so they both kind of get it.' Article content Coaches' participation in the postgame handshake line seems to have been on Maurice's mind for a while now. Article content 'I don't know where it changed. When I first got in the league, you would never go shake the players' hand. Some coach wanted to get on camera, is the only thing I can figure out. Maybe he wanted to shake Wayne Gretzky's hand or something. I don't know when it changed, but I don't think it's right,' he said. 'I think there's a really nice, kind of beautiful part of our game when just the players shake hands at the end. … When you think of all the great competitions on the ice … and yet they shake hands like that, that's special. … I appreciate the risk that [Brind'Amour] took because he's concerned that somebody here [in the postgame news conference] is going to be upset that he didn't shake our players' hands. I asked him not to, and he understood. So that's what happened.' Article content
Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Paul Maurice skipped the NHL's revered handshake line. Here's why.
Florida Panthers Coach Paul Maurice and Carolina Hurricanes Coach Rod Brind'Amour appeared to have words with each other after the Panthers ended the Hurricanes' season with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, and neither coaching staff took part in the handshake line that traditionally caps the final game of a Stanley Cup playoff series.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Hurricanes are still missing something — and Aleksander Barkov gave them proof
SUNRISE, Fla. — In the end, or at least at the beginning of it, the Carolina Hurricanes did what we asked of them. Make no mistake: The first period of the final game of their 2024-25 season never quite seemed like it'd be enough to save them. That wasn't the point. Because even in the moment, even with them at their best, the ghosts of games 1, 2 and 3 against the Florida Panthers waited around the corner. No team in the history of the NHL has dug itself a hole like that against the defending champs and lived to tell the tale. Advertisement But in era of Hurricanes hockey that has been and may continue to be defined by widespread perception that they're lacking a sixth gear, or a knob that turns to 11, or the type of high-end talent necessary to advance to conference finals and then continue to climb, the first period felt like real, live pushback. It felt like we were learning something. In the end, though — the real end — we learned the truth, and Aleksander Barkov taught the lesson. 'Their best player,' Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, 'made an elite play.' Sebastian Aho is Carolina's best forward, their first-line center, and their highest-paid player. He's led his team in scoring in seven of the last eight seasons. And he's wonderful — creative, responsible, highly skilled, a player you can win with, a player you can build around. The question, though, as ever, is whether that's enough. The question is whether he's elite. And it's a fair one; only so many players — 10, maybe 15 — should get that label. For someone who, in his last two trips to the conference finals, had two goals in 10 games, it's tough to argue the case. And in the first 20 minutes on Wednesday night, he did his best. Aho, at 4:39 of the first period and with his team buzzing around him, intercepted a neutral-zone pass by Florida's Gustav Forsling and, in clear, beat Sergei Bobrovsky cleanly from the slot. With 1:06 remaining, he scooped up a loose puck along the boards, took off toward Bobrovsky and used Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola as a screen to beat Bobrovsky again. In a period that was even in plenty of ways, Aho's goals were the difference. In a game that was just as even — something you could say about three of the five we saw here — it was not. The difference was Barkov. Florida's first-line center is not all-world, but he's close enough to it. If Connor McDavid is at the top of the list, and if Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews swap spots behind him depending on the season, Barkov is probably next in line. He's consistently the most complete player of the four, the only one who's won a Selke and one of two, along with MacKinnon, who's been the best player on a Stanley Cup champion. And as the clock drained, and media members in the press box at Lenovo Center priced out hotel rooms for a potential Game 5, Barkov pulled the plug. Advertisement He picked up the puck deep in Carolina's zone along the right boards and carried it behind the net. Along the way, he picked up a hitchhiker — Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov — carried him into the left corner and then ejected him from the car. A move toward the crease set up a feed to Carter Verhaeghe, and that was that. Florida was up 4-3 with 7:40 left, but if you were smart, you went to bed. 'Everything happened quick,' Barkov said afterward. Orlov would agree. 'I had good momentum there, had good speed, so I just tried to protect the puck.' Evan Rodrigues has spent plenty of time on the ice with Barkov over the last two seasons. He knows what he's watching. He knows who Barkov is and how he does what he did on Wednesday night. 'It's kind of his demeanor, to be honest, Rodrigues said. 'It's just who he is as a person. He doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. His emotion level is always even-keeled, so when there's a stressful environment or a high-emotion environment, he's able to play his game, stick with his game, and just do the right thing over and over and over again, and his skill just kind of takes over. You never see him force anything, you never see him try anything dangerous. 'He's just all-world, all skill, all talent, and it just comes out.' Players like Barkov making plays like the pass to Verhaeghe aren't inevitable. None of them are; a standard line about McDavid in particular is that, at times, he feels like he can simply decide to score. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is proof that's not the case. But the vibe exists, and that counts for something. It's not just about scoring goals or setting them up; it's about the timing. It's about the sequencing. Aho had it early. He didn't have it late. And that's a bitter bit of irony — not just for him, either. Carolina, at last, got a two-goal, take-charge, juiced-up period from its best player, and it didn't matter all that much. For six minutes after the loss, Aho stood at his locker, taking questions about another season that ended earlier than any hockey player would like. He answered them thoughtfully, emotionally, reasonably and honestly, talking about the second-period meltdown and missed opportunities on the power play. Advertisement One of the questions was about the idea that losing in five games rather than four could be a moral victory 'To me, you either win or lose (a) series,' Aho said. 'What's it matter? If you lose in four or seven or whatever, you lose the series, right? 'And obviously, that's a great hockey team. I mean, one team has beat them the past three seasons, right? So we knew it was going to be a big task to try to beat them. And we truly believe that we have what it takes, but obviously fell short yet again. So, yeah. Pissed. Really pissed off.' Brind'Amour, a few minutes later, was in a similar spot. He wasn't interested in the idea that his team should try to adapt. Florida, he said, won a Cup and might win another based on a style that isn't far off from his own. Exit your zone, enter theirs, forecheck hard, wait for your chance and capitalize. 'I feel like that's been our game for a long time. They've kind of picked it up the last couple of years and made it that much better,' he said, thumb and forefinger a couple of inches apart 'So that's what we've got to get.' For a moment, it seemed like they had it. And now it seems more clear than ever before that they don't. (Photo of Aleksander Barkov and Dmitry Orlov battling for possession of the puck: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Panthers, Hurricanes coaches exchange words after Game 5
The post Panthers, Hurricanes coaches exchange words after Game 5 appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year on Wednesday night. Florida defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by the score of 5-3 to punch their ticket. Head coach Paul Maurice will see his team attempt to win its second straight Cup and the second in franchise history. However, it does not appear as if everyone was in the mood to congratulate him. Advertisement The Panthers and Hurricanes lined up at center ice for the traditional handshake line. This is a tradition dating back to before the NHL began as a league. Absent from this line was Maurice, who approached the Hurricanes' coaching staff separately from the players. The exchange between Florida's bench boss and Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour appeared to be rather intense, as seen in a video shared by Sportsnet. Panthers' Paul Maurice abstains from handshake line © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images This exchange between Maurice and Brind'Amour is rather interesting given recent comments. Maurice spoke about his thoughts on the handshake line earlier this postseason. He believes this tradition is meant to be for the players. And he would prefer coaches show their respects separately. Advertisement 'When this whole thing started, and I don't know when it changed, probably in the past 10 years, but the coaches would come off the bench, shake hands, and then they would leave,' Maurice said back in early May, via George Richards. 'Somewhere, some coach wanted to get on camera, got down there, and got in the line. Now, if you don't, you get roasted for it, being disrespectful. So, you've got to go and shake a bunch of sweaty dudes' hands. 'But you wear a suit to the game; for those guys, the battle is real. The intensity is real, the meanness. You have two guys crossing paths who had been trying to do harm to each other for somewhere between four and seven games. That handshake is legitimate, and it's real. And that's a part of the great story of our game that they can do that.' Maurice did abstain from the handshake line when the Panthers eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also did not partake in the line when they beat the Hurricanes on Wednesday. No matter how one feels about Maurice's perspective, the Panthers coach has stayed true to his word during this playoff run.
