What happened to the Carolina Hurricanes?
That seems to be what everyone — from media and fans to the team’s players and coaches — is asking after the Hurricanes lost the first four games of their six-game road trip to spiral down to sixth place in the Metropolitan Division.
“We’re not happy and we’re frustrated,” Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said after the players held a closed-door meeting following Saturday’s 4-3 loss in Vancouver, the team’s fourth straight defeat during its western Canada swing. “Like I said, we’ve done a lot of talking. This isn’t the first meeting we’ve had. The time is now to show it to us and everyone what we are capable of. The only way out is together.”
It is the first time since November 2019 — Rod Brind’Amour’s second season as coach — that Carolina has lost four straight games in regulation. The loss to the Canucks dropped the Hurricanes to 14-12-1 on the season, including 6-10-0 on the road, and they were 10 points behind the first-place Rangers heading into Tuesday night’s games.
The easy answer to the question asked at the start of this piece is goaltending.
Carolina ranks last in the NHL in save percentage at .867 and has, according to Hockey-Reference.com, gotten just eight quality starts from Antti Raanta (four in 11 starts) and Pyotr Kochetkov (four in 10 starts) this season. Frederik Andersen, out with what the team has called a blood clotting issue, had three quality starts out of six before he went on injured reserve.
The Hurricanes considered signing veteran Jaroslav Halak when Andersen was first diagnosed, having him practice with the team on a professional tryout, but the 38-year-old reportedly balked at an AHL conditioning assignment and left Raleigh without a contract.
Detroit and Montreal have both carried three goalies this season, and Carolina could look to those teams if it wishes to change its mix in net.
The Red Wings have two familiar faces — James Reimer and Alex Lyon — among their trio, while the Canadiens could be looking to move one of Jake Allen or Cayden Primeau — yes, he’s the son of Keith, who was traded from the Hurricanes to Philadelphia after holding out in 1999 in the deal that brought Brind’Amour to Raleigh — after signing Sam Montembeault to a three-year contract extension.
The Blue Jackets could also be in the market to move one of Elvis Merzlikins (currently on IR with an illness) or Spencer Martin now that top goalie prospect Daniil Tarasov is back from injury.
The obvious question is are any of those options a worthwhile upgrade?
Only Merzlikins (10 quality starts in 19 appearances), Allen (six of 11) and Lyon (four of six) have had quality starts in more than 50% of their starts, and two of them would require big commitments.
Merzlikins has this year and three more left on a five-year contract that costs $5.4 million against the cap annually. Allen has a $3.85 million AAV contract that expires after next season. Lyon is a bargain at $900,000 this year and next, but would the Red Wings even be willing to trade help to a team they could be battling with for a playoff spot?
Carolina could also look to floundering teams like Chicago and San Jose. Former Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek in on an expiring deal and has performed well in a bad situation with the Blackhawks. Sharks goalies Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood have sub-.900 save percentages but with little help in front of them.
Which raises the point: Is the Hurricanes’ problem truly the goaltending?
There’s no denying Carolina has lost games this season because of its goalies, but there have also been uncharacteristic breakdowns that have left the team’s final line of defense vulnerable.
While the defense hasn’t been as good as it looks on paper, it’s often been the Hurricanes’ forwards who have failed the team.
That starts with Martin Necas. The 24-year-old is in a contract year and looks more like the player who struggled through the 2021-22 season — also when he was playing for a new deal — than the one who led the team in scoring last year. He has been on the ice for 30 goals against at even strength, nine more than second-place forward Aho, plus four more shorthanded goals. Necas was on the ice for a team-high 65 even-strength goals a year ago.
Captain Jordan Staal, who faces the opposition’s best players each game, was on the ice for 45 even-strength goals against in 81 games last season. This year, he’s been on the ice for 20 in 27 games. Michael Bunting, Seth Jarvis, Aho and others have all been victimized during the trip to western Canada.
There’s no quick fix to the goaltending if the players in front of the net continue to make crucial mistakes. The chicken or the egg problem for the Hurricanes is whether the goalies are struggling because of the play in front of them or the players are making mistakes because they can’t trust the goaltending behind them.
As Aho said, the only way out is together.
