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PHT Morning Skate: Jets building long-term contender; NHL yet to figure out how to pay goalies

By Scott BilleckJul 13, 2018, 8:00 AM EDT

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• The dates for arbitration destiny (if they make it there) are set for a bevy of the NHL’s restricted free agents. (TSN.ca)

• Connor Hellebuyck the first shoe to drop in Winnipeg, with several more waiting their turn. (Winnipeg Sun)

• Hellebuyck’s extension also proved once again that the Jets are building a long-term contender right away. (The Hockey News)

• The NHL has yet to figure out how to pay their goalies. (TSN.ca)

• Kevin Shattenkirk is on track to be ready for Rangers training camp. (NHL.com)

• Vancouver Canucks seventh overall draft pick this year Quinn Hughes is set to benefit from wherever he plays this coming year. (Sportsnet)

• The salary cap in Edmonton is tight. Quite tight. So tight, that defenseman Darnell Nurse doesn’t want a long-term deal with the team right now. (Edmonton Sun)

• Logan Couture, who signed an eight-year, $64 million extension with the San Jose Sharks on July 1, says it was an easy decision to make. (NHL.com)

• Who do the top 2018 NHL draft picks remind us of? Prospect expert Chris Peters explains. (ESPN)

• Sauce Hockey in hot water over crude t-shirts after Wal-Mart pulls them off store shelves in Canada. (CBC.ca)

• Mall celebrity upstages both Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in viral photo. (The Star Halifax)

• Woman fighting ovarian cancer used playing hockey as therapy before she tragically passed away. (The Western Star)

• Tavares, Maple Leafs tough to match up with at center, opponents say. (NHL.com)

• Is St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong a master trader? (The Hockey Writers)

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Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

ProHockeyTalk’s NHL free agency tracker

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By Sean LeahyJul 13, 2018, 8:00 AM EDT

18 Comments

The NHL’s off-season is under way and with free agency beginning July 1 there will be plenty of action this summer. Check back here for all of the trades and signings that teams will be making in hopes of improving their chances at winning the 2018-19 Stanley Cup.

July 16
• Ryan Hartman, Nashville Predators agree to a one-year, $875,000 deal. (Link)

July 15
• The Blue Jackets and Oliver Bjorkstrand agree to a three-year, $7.5 million extension. (Link)

• Philip Danult re-signs with the Canadiens. Thee years, $9.249 million. (Link)

July 14
• Ryan Murray accepts his qualifying offer with the Blue Jackets. One year, $2.825 million. (Link)

• Rob O'Gara re-signs with the Rangers. One year, $874,125. (Link)

July 13
• Joel Armia and the Canadiens come to terms on a one-year, $1.85 million contract. (Link)

• Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights agree to a three-year, $21 million extension. (Link)

• Andreas Johnsson accepts his qualifying offer, a one-year, $787,500 deal with the Maple Leafs. (Link)

• The Stars extend Devin Shore with a two-year, $4.6 million contract. (Link)

July 12
• Connor Hellebuyck signs a six-year, $37 million extension with the Jets. (Link)

• The Blackhawks send the contract of Marian Hossa’s contract, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 third-rounder to the Coyotes for Marcus Kruger, Jordan Maletta, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle’s rights and a 2019 fifth-rounder. (Link)

• Cody McLeod returns to the Rangers on a one-year deal. (Link)

• Jamie Oleksiak and the Penguins agree to a three-year, $6.4125 million extension. (Link)

July 11
• Adam Erne re-signs with the Lightning. One-year, $800,000. (Link)

• Anthony Mantha and the Red Wings agree to a two-year, $6.6 million extension. (Link)

July 10
• Patrick Maroon heads homes to St. Louis and signs a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Blues. (Link)

• Nikita Kucherov signs an eight-year, $76 million extension with the Lightning. (Link)

July 9
• Ross Johnston gets a four-year, $4 million extension with the Islanders. (Link)

• Rasmus Dahlin inks his three-year, entry level contract with the Sabres. (Link)

• The Islanders add forward Jan Kovar, who spent the last five seasons in the KHL, with a one-year deal. (Link)

July 7
• Alex Lyon re-signs in Philadelphia. Two years, $1.5 million. (Link)

• Dmitrij Jaskin and the Blues agree to a one-year, $1.1 million extension. (Link)

• Colin Miller signs four-year, $15.5 million extension with the Vegas Golden Knights (Link)

• Dylan DeMelo re-ups with the San Jose Sharks. Two years, $1.8 million total. (Link)

July 6
• Matt Nieto stays with the Colorado Avalanche. Two years, $3.95 million total. (Link)

• Oscar Dansk re-signs with the Vegas Golden Knights. Two years, $1.35 million total. (Link)

• The Dallas Stars re-sign Jason Dickinson to a one-year, $875,000 contract. (Link)

• Alexander Petrovic re-signs with the Florida Panthers with a one-year deal. (Link)

• After getting bought out by the Wild, Tyler Ennis signs with the Maple Leafs. One year, $650,000. (Link)

• Ryan Strome re-ups with the Oilers with a two-year, $6.2 million extension. (Link)

• Oskar Sundqvist inks a one-year, $700,000 to remain a St. Louis Blue. (Link)

July 5
• Cedric Paquette gets a one-year, $1 million deal to stay with the Lightning. (Link)

• Trevor van Riemsdyk, Hurricanes avoid arbitration with two-year, $4.6 million deal. (Link)

• Anthony Duclair heads to the Blue Jackets on a one-year, $650,000 deal. (Link)

• Andreas Athanasiou stays with the Detroit Red Wings with a two-year, $6 million deal. (Link)

• Jacob De La Rose re-signs with the Canadiens with a two-year, $1.8 million contract. (Link)

• The Ducks bring on Andrej Sustr with a one-year, $1.3 million contract. (Link)

• Boone Jenner gets a four-year, $15 million extension from the Columbus Blue Jackets. (Link)

• Christian Folin gets a one-year deal from the Philadelphia Flyers. (Link)

• Jordan Nolan heads to the St. Louis Blues. One year, $650,000. (Link)

July 3
• Robby Fabbri stays in St. Louis with a one-year, $925,000 deal. (Link)

• The Boston Bruins re-sign Sean Kuraly for three years, $3.825 million. (Link)

• Remi Elie re-signs with the Dallas Stars. One year, $735,000 (Link)

• Calvin de Haan signs with the Carolina Hurricanes on a four-year, $18.4 million contract in free agency. [Link]

• The Islanders signed goalie Robin Lehner to a one-year contract. [Link]

• Brad Richardson is back with the Arizona Coyotes on a two-year contract. [Link]

• The Islanders bring back Matt Martin in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Link)

July 2
• Tomas Hertl re-ups with the Sharks on a four-year, $22.5 million contract. (Link)

• Carter Rowney gets a three-year deal from the Anaheim Ducks. (Link)

• Joe Thornton re-signs in San Jose with a one-year, $5 million deal. (Link)

• Brian Gibbons lands a one-year, $1 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks. (Link)

• Slater Koekkoek is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning. One year, $865,000. (Link)

• Zac Rinaldo has a new home with the Nashville Predators. One year, $650,000. (Link)

• James Neal gets a five-year, $28.75 million deal from the Calgary Flames. (Link)

• Tom Kuhnhackl joins the Islanders on a one-year deal. (Link)

July 1
• Matt Calvert joins the Colorado Avalanche on a three-year, $8.4 millon deal. (Link)

• Valtteri Filppula joins the Islanders on a one-year, $2.75 million deal. (Link)

• The Buffalo Sabres send Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues for a 2019 first-rounder, 2021 second-rounder, forwards Tage Thompson, Patrik Berglund, and Vladimir Sobotka. The Blues also pick up O’Reilly’s $7.5 million signing bonus. (Link)

• Luke Schenn will be manning the Anaheim Ducks’ blue line next season. One year, $800,000. (Link)

• Defenseman Nick Holden is joining the Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights. Two years, $4.4 million (Link)

• Islanders sign Leo Komarov for four years, $12 million. (Link)

• Sven Baertschi is back in Vancouver on a three-year, $10 million contract. (Link)

• Riley Nash cashes in on a big year and gets a three-year, $8.25 million deal with the Blue Jackets. (Link)

• Vladislav Namestnikov is staying with the New York Rangers with a two-year, $8 million extension. (Link)

• Tobias Rieder hooks up with the Oilers on a one-year, $1.3 million contract. (Link)

• Matt Cullen goes back to Pittsburgh on a one-year. $650,000 deal. (Link)

• John Moore gets a big contract from the Boston Bruins. Five years, $13.75 million. (Link)

• #TavaresWatch is over. John Tavares has signed a seven-year, $77 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Link)

• The Sabres and Blues basically swap backup goalies now that Chad Johnson signs for one year, $1.75 million in St. Louis. (Link)

• The Hurricanes find their backup in Petr Mrazek. One year, $1.5 million. (Link)

• Michael Grabner heads west with a three-year, $10.05 million deal with the Coyotes. (Link)

• Kyle Brodziak joins the Oilers for two years, $2.3 million. (Link)

• After two seasons in the KHL, Val Nichushkin returns to Dallas with a two-year, $5.9 million deal. (Link)

• J.T. Brown joins the Wild on a two-year, $1.375 million contract. (Link)

• Ryan McDonagh inks a seven-year, $47.25 million extension to stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Link)

• The Stars stay busy adding Roman Polak (one year, $1.3 million) to their blue line. (Link)

• Tomas Plekanec is member of the Montreal Canadiens again. One year, $2.25 million. (Link)

• The Chicago Blackhawks add Cam Ward ($3 million) and Chris Kunitz ($1 million) on one year deals and ink Brandon Manning to a two-year, $4.5 million contract. (Link)

• The Coyotes make Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s eight year, $66 million extension official. (Link)

• The Colorado Avalanche add to their blue line bringing in Ian Cole on a three-year, $12.75 million deal. (Link)

• Blake Comeau is signed by the Dallas Stars, three years, $7.2 million. (Link)

• Tyler Bozak joins Perron in St. Louis as the Blues ink the center to a three-year, $15 million deal. (Link)

• Thomas Hickey heads back to the Islanders with a four-year, $10 million contract. (Link)

• Paul Stastny leaves Winnipeg for the Vegas Golden Knights on a three-year, $19.5 million deal. (Link)

• The Jack Johnson to the Penguins deal is real and it’s $16.25 million over five years. (Link)

• Thomas Vanek (one year, $3 million), Mike Green (two year, $10.75 million) and Jonathan Bernier (three year, $9 million) have all signed with the Detroit Red Wings.

• James van Riemsdyk heads back to Philadelphia with a five-year, $35 million contract. (Link)

• David Perron returns to St. Louis and signs a four-year, $16 million deal with the Blues. (Link)

• Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel each get four-year, $12 million deals from the Vancouver Canucks. (Link)

• The Calgary Flames pick up Derek Ryan (three years, $9.375 million) and Austin Czarnik (two years, $2.50 million). (Link)

• Greg Pateryn gets a three-year, $6.75 million deal from the Minnesota Wild. Eric Fehr (one year, $1 million) is joining him. (Link)

• The Bruins, Sabres Stars find backups with Jaroslav Halak (two years, $5.5 million) headed to Boston, Anton Khudobin (two years, $5 million) on his way to Dallas and Carter Hutton (three years, $8.25 million) going to Buffalo.

• Matt Hendricks moves on to the Wild with a one-year, $700,000 deal. (Link)

June 30
• Winnipeg Jets clear valuable cap space by shipping Steve Mason to Montreal Canadiens. (Link)

• Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks agree to eight-year, $64 million extension. (Link)

• Ryan Reaves is sticking in Sin City, signing a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. (Link)

• Chris Wagner heads to the Boston Bruins on a two-year, $2.5 million deal. (Link)

• Eddie Lack returns to New Jersey on a one-year, $650,000 deal with the Devils. (Link)

• The Carolina Hurricanes hand Andrei Svechnikov his three-year, entry level deal worth $2,497,500. (Link)

• Niklas Hjalmarsson inks a two-year, $10 million extension (kicks in 2019-20) with the Arizona Coyotes. (Link)

June 29
• Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings agree to eight-year, $88 million extension. (Link)

• Michal Kempny stays in Washington with four-year, $10 million extension. (Link)

• Capitals name Todd Reirden as Barry Trotz’s replacement. (Link)

• Frank Vatrano returns to Florida Panthers on one-year, $925,000 contract. (Link)

• Carolina Hurricanes re-sign Valentin Zykov with two-year, $1.35 million contract. (Link)

June 28
• Penguins hand one-year, $650,000 deal to J.S. Dea. (Link)

June 27
• Penguins deal Conor Sheary, Matt Hunwick to Buffalo Sabres. (Link)

• Devante Smith-Pelly returns to Washington Capitals with one-year, $1 million deal (Link)

• Penguins re-sign Riley Sheahan to $2.1 million, 1-year deal. (Link)

• Arizona Coyotes bring back Kevin Connauton with two year, $2.75 million extension. (Link)

June 26
• Vancouver Canucks re-sign Derrick Pouliot, one year, $1.1 million. (Link)

• Pittsburgh Penguins re-sign Bryan Rust with 4 year, $14 million deal. (Link)

• Ottawa Senators buy out final year Alex Burrows’s contract. (Link)

• J.T. Miller gets five-year, $26.25 million extension from Tampa Bay Lightning. (Link)

• Sam Morin gets three-year, $2.1 million extension from Philadelphia Flyers. (Link)

• Joe Morrow re-signs with Winnipeg Jets for $1 million over one year. (Link)

Penguins’ big defense spending continues with Oleksiak

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By James O'BrienJul 12, 2018, 7:15 PM EDT

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Perhaps it’s fitting that the Pittsburgh Penguins put a bow on big defense spending by re-signing Jamie Oleksiak, one of the largest humans you’ll see roaming a blueline.

The team announced that they signed the 25-year-old to a three-year contract that will carry a $2,137,500 cap hit. He’s generally listed at 6-foot-7, which is just a couple inches shorter than Zdeno Chara.

(It only seems fair that he was frequently called upon to drop the mitts once he arrived from Dallas then, right?)

In a vacuum, it’s an inoffensive contract, although some will grimace a bit at giving three years to a potential depth defenseman. Your overall opinion of the big blueliner will vary depending upon how you value what he brings to the table. His size is valued by many, and he didn’t take on too much water from a possession standpoint.

There’s little denying that he enjoyed something of a career rejuvenation in Pittsburgh, echoing Trevor Daley and Justin Schultz, even though his gritty style makes him quite different from those fleet-footed defensemen. After averaging just 15 minutes per game with the Stars, Oleksiak’s ice time shot up to an average of 17:24 in 41 contests with Pittsburgh.

That ice time plummeted during the postseason, as he only logged an average of 13:43 per contest.

We’ve seen teams get burned by handing an extension to a defenseman who thrived during a brief audition, such as Brendan Smith‘s disastrous turn with the Rangers, although the Penguins didn’t shell out as large of a cap hit here.

The larger concern might be that the Penguins could be guilty of a mistake a lot of contenders fall victim of: locking up a lot of depth players when it might be wiser to allow more room to scour the market for cheaper options in the bottom of the order. On the other hand, maybe Oleksiak will end up being another successful reclamation project in Pittsburgh?

Either way, the Penguins are locked in with quite a few defensemen, so substantial commitments abound.

Signed-through dates for Penguins defensemen:
Letang 2021-22
Dumoulin 2022-23
Schultz 2019-20
Maatta 2021-22
Oleksiak 2020-21
Johnson 2022-23
Ruhwedel 2018-19

— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) July 12, 2018

It’s a pricey group, too. Via Cap Friendly’s estimates, the Penguins are spending almost $27M on seven defensemen: Oleksiak, Schultz, Kris Letang, Jack Johnson, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, and Chad Ruhwedel.

For some, that’s the price of doing business for a team not far removed from back-to-back Stanley Cup victories.

Others will blanche at the thought that, at times, the Penguins overcome this group, rather than being propped up by it. Those critics surely won’t be over the moon about some of their recent commitments, especially oft-criticized Jack Johnson carrying a $3.25M cap hit mere months after the Blue Jackets couldn’t give him away during the trade deadline.

There are some red flags going on with that unit, and maybe the Oleksiak signing will be looked upon as a mistake.

Ultimately, it’s not the sort of decision that will derail the Penguins’ hopes for contending now and in the future. The worry, though, is that the mistakes might start to really pile up for the Pens. After all, flexibility can be crucial in the modern NHL, and GM Jim Rutherford risks painting himself into a corner.

(Then again, the Blackhawks reminded us today that you can often foist your cap problems on other teams, so maybe none of this is all that big of a concern?)

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Hellebuyck turns career year into $37 million extension with Jets

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By Scott BilleckJul 12, 2018, 10:30 AM EDT

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The Winnipeg Jets to-do list got a little shorter on Thursday.

The Jets locked up their goaltending future, signing Vezina runner-up Connor Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37 million contract.

Hellebuyck had a breakout season in 2017-18, posting 44 wins to set a new franchise record for the Jets (and a new record for American-born goalies) in a single season. He also posted franchise marks in shutouts with six and save percentage with a .925, as he seamlessly turned into one of the league’s premier netminders.

And now he’s getting paid like one.

Hellebuyck becomes the sixth highest paid goaltender in the NHL, behind Carey Price ($10.5 million AAV), Henrik Lundqvist ($8.5 million AAV), Sergei Bobrovsky ($7.425 million AAV) Tuukka Rask ($7 million AAV) and Pekka Rinne ($7 million AAV). Hellebuyck’s contract comparables include Braden Holtby, Frederik Anderson and Semyon Varlamov.

The deal means the Jets will avoid going to arbitration with Hellebuyck, who was a restricted free agent.

The move also means that that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has one less RFA to sign in an offseason rife with talented players needing raises. CapFriendly has the Jets sitting with $20.6 million in cap space, with a couple of bigger ticket items to sort out soon.

Cheveldayoff will now turn his attention to fellow RFAs in Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, the team’s top, and one of the NHL’s best shutdown pairings. Trouba is looking for a long-term deal while the Jets will likely be able to bridge Morrissey. The Jets also have Brandon Tanev, Adam Lowry and Marko Dano to sign after the trip filed for arbitration.

Winnipeg will also be looking to extend 44-goal man Patrik Laine, who is likely to come close to double digits in AAV, if not exceed them.

Among starting goalies this season, Hellebuyck showed very well, posting an xSv% of 92.92%, good for fifth in the NHL with a minimum of 1,500 minutes played.

Hellebuyck made huge strides in his game after a disappointing 2016-17 campaign. Hooking up with Adam Francilia at the NET360 camp in British Columbia, Hellebuyck appeared to re-invent himself and the results were immediate as he erased many of the doubts people had of him coming into the year.

The Michigan native was instrumental in leading the Jets to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history, and Hellebuyck was also named to the NHL All-Star game.

The Jets will enter the 2018-19 season with Laurent Brossoit handling backup duties after the team traded Steve Mason to the Montreal Canadiens as a part of a salary dump. The Jets signed Mason last offseason to a two-year, $8.2 million deal after Hellebuyck’s rough season previous, but he quickly became expendable because of Hellebuyck’s play and myriad injuries that plagued Mason throughout last season.

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Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck

Goaltending will once again make or break the Hurricanes season

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By Adam GretzJul 11, 2018, 4:01 PM EDT

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So far this offseason is taking shape the same way as the previous four or five for the Carolina Hurricanes

There is the yearly talk that forward Jeff Skinner is on the verge of being traded without — to this point — actually being traded.

We have also now reached the point of the summer where we look at the roster, perhaps after some kind of a trade, free agent signing, or draft pick (in this case the selection of Andrei Svechnikov with the No. 2 overall pick along with the acquisition of Dougie Hamilton from the Calgary Flames), and try to convince ourselves that this is going to be the season where the Hurricanes put it all together and are good again … if only they can just get some decent goaltending.

As much as it all sounds like a broken record, there is a lot of truth to that statement.

Over the past four years the Hurricanes have allowed fewer shots on goal than every team in the NHL with the exception of the Los Angeles Kings. Despite they rank 20th in terms of goals against, a shocking disparity when you look at the rest of the league. You can talk about shot quality and scoring chances, but teams that are so strong when it comes to shot suppression usually — usually! — fare well when it comes to preventing goals. Teams that are bad at shot suppression are usually bad at giving up goals. It is not exactly rocket science here.

The biggest part of scoring a goal in the NHL is actually getting the puck on net. The more it happens, the more are going to end up in the net. The fewer you get on net, the fewer you in the net.

Just look at the top-10 and bottom-10 teams in terms of giving up shots on goal over the past four seasons and where they also rank in goals against.

The Hurricanes are the only team in the top-seven in terms of shots allowed that ranks lower than ninth in goals against during that stretch. The only other two outliers in the top-10 (Calgary and Dallas) are two other teams that have well documented issues finding consistent goaltending.

The only outliers on the right side are, really, the New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist masks a lot of flaws) and Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo masks some flaws, too). Maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets, too (they have a two-time Vezina Trophy winner in their net).

With the additions of Hamilton and Calvin de Haan in free agency that defense is going to be just as strong, if not better, than it has been the past few years, and that hat will still be true whether or not they trade Justin Faulk.

The issue, again, is going to be whether or not they have anybody in net that can give them even average play in net.

For years it was Cam Ward that had a stranglehold on the position, and for the better part of the past six or seven years was one of the least productive goalie in the league. At different times they have brought in successful backups to perhaps push Ward and maybe even take the job away from him and perhaps solidify the position, including the likes of Anton Khudobin and Eddie Lack. None of them succeeded.

The latest attempt came last offseason when they traded a third-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for Scott Darling and then immediately signed him to a four-year, $16 million contract extension.

Year one of the Darling era was … well … more of the same in the Carolina net as Darling’s .888 save percentage was 32nd out of 32 goalies to appear in at least 40 games. It was also one of the 10 worst performances over the past 20 years (again among goalies that played in at least 40 games). It had to be a large disappointment for the Hurricanes, not only because the investment they made did not produce immediate results, but also because Darling had been really good in Chicago as Corey Crawford‘s backup. Then as soon as they get him in Carolina everything completely fell apart in his first attempt at being a regular starter (or at least as a semi-regular starter).

Despite that tough debut the Hurricanes seem willing to stick with him and give him another shot, especially after letting Ward go in free agency and only signing Petr Mrazek (who was, to say the least, not good for the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers this past season) to push him for playing time.

The net, it seems, still belongs to Darling.

His attempt at bouncing back — as well as everything that led to his down year in 2017-18 — was the subject of an in-depth article this week by Luke DeCock at the News & Observer where he details Darling’s work to improve his physical conditioning and attempt to show up at camp in better shape than he did a year ago. Given the season Darling had a year ago, it certainly can not hurt.

If you are a Hurricanes fan there are a couple of things that should give you cause for optimism even after a decade of the same story over and over again.

For one, there is every reason to believe the shot numbers and underlying numbers this team has produced are an accurate reflection of what it is capable of defensively. It is a good defensive team, and it has good players on the blue line, and it added even more of them this summer.

There is also a pretty striking parallel here with another perpetually mediocre team that always seemed to be just a goalie away from competing — the Winnipeg Jets.

For years the Jets stuck with their same core of players, they stuck with the same goalie, they would have consistently good underlying numbers, and they would always lose because their goalies, for lack of a better word, stunk. Then one year they got a chance to draft a superstar goal-scorer with the No. 2 overall pick (Patrik Laine) to bring everything together up front, and then they finally found a competent goalie in Conor Hellebuyck. The result: An organization that had made the playoffs just once in the past 10 years and had never even won a playoff game was in the Western Conference Final, just a handful of wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.

Are the Hurricanes, as presently constructed, really that far away from where the Jets were heading into the 2017-18 season? While the Jets were built around a group of talented forwards, the Hurricanes have built their core around the blue line — and it is excellent. The point, though, is that there is a young, talented core in place here that could be capable of competing this season. How quickly Svechnikov is able to develop will play a big role in the outcome of the season, but the biggest issue will once again be in net.

They do not need him to be a savior. They do not need him to be Henrik Lundqvist or even a top-five goalie But if Darling is able to be the goalie the Hurricanes thought he could be when they traded for — and signed — him a year ago, an average to maybe slightly above average starter, they could be a lot better than anyone expects them to be, and a lot sooner than any expects them to be, too.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.