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Hurricanes’ fatal flaw that must be fixed in 2024-25 season

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Tristin McKinstry | Last updated 10/11/24

The Carolina Hurricanes had their season opener postponed due to Hurricane Milton. Carolina finally dropped the puck on Friday night for a contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Hurricanes are looking to make the playoffs in 2024. And this season-opening game is their first step toward achieving that goal.

History shines favorably on Carolina’s chances. Since Rod Brind’Amour took over as head coach, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs every year. Brind’Amour signed a contract extension with the team this summer despite rumors linking him to other teams as a free agent. This keeps him with the team he won the Stanley Cup with as a player in 2006.

The Hurricanes certainly have a talented team, as well. However, they have yet to win the Stanley Cup under Brind’Amour. Furthermore, Carolina oversaw some roster turnover in NHL Free Agency. Talent was added over the summer to make up for it. But there certainly are concerns over the Hurricanes’ chemistry early in the season.

In saying this, chemistry is not the only concern with this team. In fact, it isn’t even the biggest concern regarding the Hurricanes roster as the new season gets underway. Let’s go over this larger flaw now that Carolina has officially dropped the puck on the 2024-25 campaign.

Hurricanes need to find goal-scoring touch

Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas (88) celebrates his goal with defenseman Dmitry Orlov (7) and defenseman Jalen Chatfield (5) against the New York Rangers during the first period in game six of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena. James Guillory-Imagn Images

The Hurricanes have an incredibly talented team. For instance, Sebastian Aho has emerged as one of the game’s more consistent point producers. And they have a couple of promising forwards in Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas. All of these players can produce offensively, but what the team as a whole has struggled to do is score goals.

The Hurricanes made a deal for Jake Guentzel at the NHL Trade Deadline last season. Specifically, they coveted his finishing ability. It was the one aspect the team truly lacked. He is a two-time 40-goal scorer as well as a proven playoff performer. Guentzel did well enough, scoring eight goals in 17 regular season games before adding four goals in 11 postseason contests.

However, Guentzel is no longer on the team. The Hurricanes traded Guentzel to the Lightning in the offseason. He went on to sign a seven-year contract with Tampa Bay in NHL Free Agency. Without Guentzel, Carolina lacks a pure goal scoring option. Players such as Aho, Jarvis, and Necas can score, but they aren’t pure goal scoring options.

This problem is even more pronounced further down the lineup. For instance, newcomer Jack Roslovic is more of a playmaker than a scorer. Andrei Svechnikov has the ability to score goals, but has yet to show the ability to take over games with his scoring touch. At this time, it seems as if Carolina is hoping their depth can outweigh the need for a pure goal scorer.

In theory, this isn’t the worst bet to take. But the Hurricanes don’t have a 40+ goal scorer on their roster at this time. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis came close last season, so this is an issue the team can rectify internally. Especially if these two improve significantly on the ice in 2024-25.

The Hurricanes have the ability to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That much is clear even from look at the team on paper. However, they need one more element to truly make a deep playoff run. And adding more goal scoring ability to the roster — internally or externally — would certainly help them better contend for a Stanley Cup.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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