Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Keys To Success For 2017-18

The Carolina Hurricanes had a midseason surge came up short to make the playoffs last season. Here are three keys to their success in 2017-18.

The Carolina Hurricanes play in what is arguably the toughest division in the NHL. The path through the Metropolitan Division will be no easier this year. Most of the Hurricanes offseasons moves were in house locking up players like Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce to long term deals. It was not a busy off-season for the Hurricanes.

However, the few moves they made could have a big impact. Justin Williams brings a veteran presence a young team like the Hurricanes needs. Scott Darling will get a chance to compete to be the number one goalie.

In order to make the postseason, Carolina’s going to need some players to step up. Here’s quick look at the Carolina Hurricanes’ three keys to success.

Defense

On paper, this is one of the best defensive units in the NHL. The addition of Trevor van Riemsdyk should only make it better. While players like Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin get most of the glory, it was the pair of Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce that really turned heads for the Hurricanes this year. The pair were the only Hurricanes with a positive plus/minus with a matching +23.

Of the many things to like about the defense, the fact that none of them are over the age of 26 is exciting, as there is still plenty of room for this group to grow. It will be interesting to see if they move away from the Pesce and Slavin pair to see how they perform with Hanifin and Faulk. With better goaltending behind them and a little more goal support up front, this is a playoff contender.

Sebastian Aho

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Sebastian Aho entered the season as one of Hurricanes best prospects. His first season in the NHL did not disappoint. Playing in all 82 games for the Hurricanes he scored 24 goals, 25 assists for 49 points. With those totals, he was 3rd in the league in rookie scoring, 9th in assists, and 6th in points. This was somewhat overshadowed by Auston Matthews, Patrick Laine, Mitch Marner and Zach Werenski who also had excellent rookie seasons.

The Hurricanes will need Aho to continue making progress and avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. Aho will definitely get every chance to succeed potentially lining up with Jordan Staal and Teuvo Teravainen.

Jeff Skinner

Jeff Skinner had his best season since his rookie season when he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. Scoring a career best 37 goals and 26 assists matching his rookie point total of 63. Skinner’s resurgence was one of the more under the radar stories in the NHL last year.

The key for both the Hurricanes and Skinner is to make sure that last season wasn’t an anomaly. As one of the more veteran players on the team at just 25, Skinner will need to continue to lead this group by example and on the score sheet.

Next: Hurricanes Season Preview

Last season was the breakout season that Hurricane fans have been waiting since his goal scoring has been anything but consistent over the years. Hitting the 40 goal mark would do great things to help this team be able to take the next step towards consistent success.