NHL Predictions: Metropolitan Division 5 Bold Projections
By Ryan Ritchie
Carolina Hurricanes Finish Last in the Metropolitan Division
I’m clearly in the minority on this one considering most in the hockey world are proclaiming the Hurricanes a team that could surprise in 2016-17. When I look at the roster changes from a year ago, it tells me this a team that could take a step back before it takes a leap forward.
All of the optimism surrounds this defensive group that surprisingly emerged in 2015-16. The thing is – several of those players are entering their sophomore season. Say what you want, but the sophomore slump is a real phenomena.
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Most experts believe it has something to do with a year full of experience or gathered game tape on a player. It’s easier to plan against an opponent’s weakness when you can identify their tendencies. This is why you hear analysts say players need to find a way to adjust their games. The same goes for the term “rookie wall” – it’s a similar scenario believed to do with one gaining enough exposure on a player to properly game plan against them.
Even if every one of those defenders continues to exceed expectations and perform to last year’s level, there are still other red flags surrounding this team.
A year ago, longtime captain Eric Staal was still in the mix – and even though it was his lowest season of production, he was still logging top minutes prior to the trade deadline deal that sent him to Broadway.
They also had veteran Kris Versteeg for a large part of 2015-16 before being dealt to LA at the deadline. He was brought in with few expectations but managed to re-establish himself and earn the Canes a quality prospect in Valentin Zykov.
Lastly, defenseman John-Michal Liles was playing considerable minutes on the back-end prior to being dealt to Boston.
GM Ron Francis did a great job adding pieces to the prospect pool, but that’s a lot of veteran presence to remove from a locker room.
On July 1, Carolina also lost names such as Riley Nash, Chris Terry, and Brad Malone (among others). Those six-plus players were essentially replaced by Bryan Bickell, Teuvo Teravainen, Lee Stempniak, and Viktor Stalberg. You could probably even include rookie Sebastian Aho since he should have an immediate impact.
It’s not to say the Hurricanes aren’t a team to watch out for in coming years. The odds just aren’t in their favor in 2016-17. Too many teams around them got significantly better and those who didn’t, were already better anyways. Between owning arguably the weakest offensive group and relying on Cam Ward/Eddie Lack to carry the load between the pipes, the Hurricanes might wind up owning the best odds to land Nolan Patrick next June.