2014-15 LEADING SCORERS
Eric Staal (23 G, 31 A, 54 P)
Justin Faulk (15 G, 34 A, 49 P)
Elias Lindholm (17 G, 22 A, 39 P)
LAST SEASON
The Hurricanes 2014-15 season was reminiscent of many other ones in the past, where they weren't exactly at the bottom of the standings, but they weren't close to a playoff spot either. They finished last place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 30-41-11, and their record was bad enough to land them the 5th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. They made a minor trade in December 2014, sending defenseman Jay Harrison to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2015 6th round pick. Once they reached the month of February and realized that they weren't going to make the playoffs, they began unloading more of their team. They kicked things off by dealing forward Jiri Tlusty to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a conditional 5th or 6th round pick in 2015 along with a 2016 3rd round pick. Their biggest move came that same day when they traded defenseman Andrej Sekera to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 1st round pick in 2015 and prospect Roland McKeown. They capped things off a few days later when they traded Tim Gleason to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Jack Hillen and a 4th round pick in 2015. Overall, this wasn't a very good year for the Hurricanes and they only really had the draft to look forward to after unloading some members of the team.
OFFSEASON
IN
Derek Ryan
James Wisniewski
Eddie Lack
T.J Hensick
OUT
Anton Khudobin
Alexander Semin
Ben Holmstrom
Greg Nemisz
Beau Schmitz
Austin Levi
Jack Hillen
Brett Bellemore
Patrick Dwyer
The Hurricanes began their offseason by signing forward Derek Ryan out of the Swedish Hockey League, and they had high hopes heading into the 2015 NHL Draft. Considering they had a top five pick, the would get whoever was not selected out of Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, and Noah Hanifin. The top two, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel were both locks to go #1 and #2, so time would make the decision on who the Canes would select. After Strome and Marner went #3 and #4 respectively, the Hurricanes went with the best player availible in Noah Hanifin, and they certainly weren't complaining. Hanifin has the potential to become a #1 defenseman, so the Hurricanes were definitely happy with their pick. On day two, they made two trades to solidify their roster, sending goaltender Anton Khudobin to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman James Wisniewski, and then sending two draft picks to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for goaltender Eddie Lack. On free agency day, they made one small depth signing in T.J Hensick, but this would be the Canes' only move.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
The Hurricanes didn't add any pieces offensively over the offseason, so expect their offense to be lead yet again by Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Jeff Skinner. Look for rookie Elias Lindholm to step into a bigger role and have a better season than last year, with secondary scoring coming from Victor Rask and Nathan Gerbe. Expect new signing Derek Ryan to challenge for a regular roster spot during the 2015-16 season as well.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
The Hurricanes defensive core improved over the offseason when they brought in James Wisniewski, so watch for him along with young offensive defenseman Justin Faulk to lead the Hurricanes D-core. Also watch out for new draft pick Noah Hanifin to try to solidify himself a spot on the opening night roster and remain with the team through the season.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
The Hurricanes will likely yet again go with Cam Ward as their starter, with Eddie Lack backing him up as previous backup Anton Khudobin was sent to the Ducks in the James Wisniewski trade.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe - Jordan Staal - Riley Nash
Victor Rask - Derek Ryan - Andrej Nestrasil
Chris Terry - Jay McClement - Zach Boychuk
Justin Faulk - James Wisniewski
Ryan Murphy - John-Michael Liles
Noah Hanifin - Ron Hainsey
Cam Ward
Eddie Lack
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