Canes coach Peters making tweaks with emphasis on being more dangerous offensively

By Ryan DadounSep 1, 2015, 10:11 PM EDT
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The Carolina Hurricanes endured a rough campaign in 2014-15 and their biggest overall issues surrounded their offense. Now going into his second season as head coach, Bill Peters hopes to address that.

“We’re going to tweak a few things from what we did last year, with an emphasis on being a more dangerous team offensively,” Peters told The News & Observer.

The Hurricanes had a number of key players that didn’t live up to expectations in that regard last season. Alexander Semin, who was bought out this summer, is the most obvious example, but Eric Staal led the team with just 54 points, which was his lowest total in an 82-game campaign since 2003-2004. Meanwhile, Jeff Skinner went from scoring 33 goals in 2013-14 to 18 last season and Jordan Staal was limited to 46 contests due to a fractured fibula.

There’s some hope that this season can be better though, in part because 20-year-old Elias Lindholm and 22-year-old Victor Rask may be ready to take another step forward.

As for the system itself though, blueliner Justin Faulk — who ranked second in the Hurricanes’ 14-15 scoring race — rose to its defense.

“It’s not a matter of trusting the system. It’s a matter of trusting the players to make sure everyone that’s in the lineup that night is ready to go,” Faulk said. “The system is there, it works. Guys believe that.”

It’s Carolina Hurricanes day at PHT

By James O'BrienAug 9, 2015, 9:00 AM EDT
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Throughout the month of August, PHT will be dedicating a day to all 30 NHL clubs. Today’s team? The Carolina Hurricanes.

Despite changing their head coach and general manager, the 2014-15 season was more of the same for the Carolina Hurricanes.

For the sixth season in a row (and eight of their last nine campaigns), the Hurricanes failed to make the playoffs. Much like 2013-14, they were in the cellar of the East.

Granted, there are murmurs of hope; the Hurricanes subtly improved toward the end of the year and Carolina showed some signs of defensive improvement under head coach Bill Peters. Such patter sounds like baby steps in the grand scheme of things.

Despite some significant expenditures on that side of the puck, Peters identified scoring as a particularly glaring issue.

“We like where we are in terms of being able to take a step forward; it will depend on us having the ability to score,” Peters said, according to NHL.com. “We have to find a way to score more at 5-on-5.”

Off-season recap

GM Ron Francis faces tougher decisions soon, yet he was fairly busy this summer.

It was costly, but the organization cut ties with Semin via a pricey buyout.

In trading Anton Khudobin to Anaheim and acquiring Eddie Lack from Vancouver, Francis gives himself flexibility with Ward, as Lack could end up the No. 1 or even combine for a platoon situation. Swapping with Anaheim also netted an expensive upgrade to Carolina’s needy defense in James Wisniewski.

Optimists may cross their fingers that the Hurricanes will opt for a youth movement. Blueline prospect Noah Hanifin joins Elias Lindholm, Justin Faulk, Victor Rask and Ryan Murphy as intriguing young talents who aren’t in limbo like Jordan Staal or Jeff Skinner.

***

This time it really does feel like a fork-in-the-road season for the Hurricanes, even if it also seems like the organization has been procrastinating when it comes to making difficult (yet crucial) decisions.

Will things finally start to turn Carolina’s way in 2015-16?

Will Carolina fill defensive openings on UFA, trade markets?

By Ryan DadounJul 25, 2015, 2:50 PM EDT
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The Carolina Hurricanes have just four defensemen signed with at least 100 games worth of NHL experience. That makes their blueline a major question mark going into training camp, but even as we near the end of July, there are still plenty of options out there for teams looking to bolster their defense.

For example, Christian Ehrhoff and Cody Franson are both still available on the open market. There’s also presumably cheaper options out there like Andrej Meszaros and Jan Hejda.

“There’s been some dialogue with some guys, but we’re still sitting and waiting to see where the numbers go,” Hurricanes GM Ron Francis told the News & Observer. “The guys we’ve talked about are not in a range we’d be comfortable with yet, so we’re keeping an eye on it. I’m not in a hurry to jump in.”

Francis added that as more arbitration eligible players either get judgments or otherwise sign, more players might be made available. Additionally, Jeff Skinner is still reportedly on the block, so Carolina might end up making a more substantial trade before the summer is done.

All that being said, Francis sees some appeal in maintaining the status quo.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to have a spot open going into camp,” Francis said. “It sends a good message to our younger guys.”

With James Wisniewski, Justin Faulk, John-Michael Liles, and Ron Hainsey all presumably locks to make the roster, that would leave 2015 fifth overall pick Noah Hanifin, Ryan Murphy, Danny Biega, Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen, and Haydn Fleury to compete for the final three openings.

Video: Nelson scores twice giving the Americans an early lead over Slovenia

By Dhiren MahibanMay 10, 2015, 11:35 AM EDT
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New York Islanders center Brock Nelson scored his team-leading fifth and sixth goals of the tournament to give the Americans a 2-0 lead over Slovenia after 20 minutes at the World Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic.

Nelson opened the scoring at 4:17 of the first period putting home a Mike Reilly feed short side on Robert Kristan.

The 23-year-old gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead, on a power play, at 16:32 of the opening period burying the rebound off of Justin Faulk’s point shot.

Ales Music has Slovenia on the board early in the second.

Video: U.S. stays unbeaten at Worlds with win over defending champs Russia

By Mike HalfordMay 4, 2015, 1:52 PM EDT
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The U.S. continued to surprise at the 2015 World Hockey Championships on Monday, scoring a 4-2 win over defending champion Russia to remain undefeated in the group phase.

Arizona Coyotes center Mark Arcobello scored the game-winner for the Americans (3-0-0-0) midway though the third period, while Dallas prospect Jack Campbell stopped 15 of 17 shots for his first win of the tournament.

Anton Belov and Sergei Plotnikov replied for the Russians, who suffered their first loss.

It’s been a banner tourney for the Americans thus far, especially given their roster makeup. USA Hockey opted to rely heavily on youth; collegians Jack Eichel (Boston University), Jimmy Vesey (Harvard), Dylan Larkin (Michigan) and Mike Reilly (Minnesota) have all played significant minutes while in goal, Campbell and fellow AHLer Connor Hellebuyck have carried the load and done remarkably well, allowing just four goals over the first three games.

Of course, the U.S. is boasting a strong, NHL-heavy defensive unit led by Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Seth Jones. The trio combined to play over 70 minutes in the win over Russia, with Krug scoring a goal and Jones finishing with two assists.

The U.S. will next play on Thursday against Belarus (10 a.m. ET), then face Denmark on Friday (2. p.m. ET), Slovenia on Sunday (3p.m. ET) and Slovakia on Tuesday (10 a.m. ET) to close out the group stage.

All Team USA games will be televised on NBCSN.