Carolina Hurricanes Need to Pursue A Franchise Center

The Carolina Hurricanes are struggling to find offense, standing 21st in the league in goals per game. They need some help, and the first place to look is down the middle.

The Carolina Hurricanes need help on offense. A lot of their offense comes from their wings. However, the Hurricanes centers have been less than impressive. Jordan Staal is underrated and Elias Lindholm is finally blossoming into a legitimate NHL center. But that’s about it.

Even though the Hurricanes have gotten surprising contributions from Derek Ryan, he’s a fourth-line center at best. They need a lot of help down the middle. Here are a few ways the Hurricanes could find that help.

The Offensive Situation

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The Carolina Hurricanes’ number one scoring center (tie between Lindholm and Ryan) has 23 points this season. This ranks tied for 57th among centers. They only have 87 points from the most important offensive position. Without Ryan and Lindholm, the rest of their centers only have 41 points. This is not good.

Also, the Carolina Hurricanes are 15th in even-strength goals for. They have the 26th best power-play in the NHL. The Hurricanes are 21st in goals for percentage. That’s while being a top ten team in nearly every possession metric. The Hurricanes have the ability to possess the puck, they just can’t score. And this has been a consistent problem for them.

That’s something a real number one center could help with. I’m not saying Ryan and Staal are bad centers, they just don’t belong on an elite first line. The Hurricanes need somebody who can take the chances the Hurricanes generate and put them in the back of the net. They have the cap space to chase a franchise player.

Potential Candidates

John Tavares is the first name that pops into mind. With the New York Islanders getting a new home in Belmont, that means he is less likely to hit the open market.

Still, if Tavares does, the Hurricanes could be a very intriguing suitor for his services. He is the type of player who could make the team a playoff contender.

There’s also Paul Stastny, who doesn’t come across as a franchise center, but is a better number one option than anyone on the Hurricanes roster. He’ll be cheaper than Tavares and would add solid depth. Stastny is, however, 32 years old. So that’s not ideal.

An outside the box solution could be Tyler Bozak. He has more offensive potential than the Hurricanes’ centers. And if anyone could make up for Bozak’s well-documented defensive mistakes, it’s Carolina.

There are a lot of centers available this offseason. Just like the Carolina Hurricanes understood what they wanted this past offseason – a veteran offensive talent – and went and got it quickly, they could do the same for the center position.

As Outside The Box As It Gets

Tavares is probably re-signing with the Islanders. Stastny makes sense on a short-term deal, but someone’s going to forget he’s over 30 years old and give him a deal they’ll regret. There is one more option to explore for the Hurricanes, but it’s one rarely explored – the offer sheet.

Before they pursue it, they should probably worry about getting Noah Hanifin a new deal. This would protect the Hurricanes from a revenge offer sheet (and also, Hanifin is really darn good). The best teams to target for this strategy are the teams who have very little cap space. Dylan Larkin, Vladislav Namestnikov, and J.T. Miller are intriguing options. Andreas Athanasiou could probably be had for relatively cheap. However, the compensation the Hurricanes would have to give up might not be worth it.

Will This Help the Hurricanes?

I think so, yes. Getting somebody who can run the offense will be a help to the Hurricanes. Getting somebody like Stastny or Tavares who can also play defense will help in that department as well. The Hurricanes have a surplus of cap room, why not use it on somebody who can help them earn more?

Next: Hurricanes Bold Predictions

Bringing a big name will help the franchise earn money. It will also help them make the playoffs, making more money. It’s both a smart business move and a smart hockey move. Go get your franchise center, Carolina. It also won’t hurt to draft one.

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