To many Carolina Hurricanes fans, the ending of the 2022-23 season ended in grave disappointment — being swept by a wildcard team in the Eastern Conference Finals. While the Canes played well up until that point, there was a missing piece that could’ve sent them to the finals: right wing Andrei Svechnikov.

Drafted No. 2 overall in 2018, the Russian quickly adapted to the NHL, recording 37 points throughout his first season with the team. In his next four seasons with the Canes, he totaled 264 points in 347 games played, never dropping past the top-five goal scorers on the team.

With the Canes being 3-3-0 through their first six games, it seems like a piece is missing from the roster — a consistent playmaker. Svechnikov is known to get the offense going in tough situations, as well as building momentum on the ice. Known to be a physical player, the 6-foot-3 winger has totaled 310 penalty minutes throughout his career with the Canes.

The 23-year-old forward was injured in a game in late March. He suffered a torn ligament and needed surgery over the offseason. Despite skating with the team in training camp, Svechnikov has yet to appear in a game. He seems to be taking recovery slowly, wanting to be 100% before finally returning as a regular to the lineup.

So how much impact can one winger make on a lineup? To non-hockey fans, it might seem like one offensive player out of four potential lines can seem trivial, but one player can change a whole game. That player will be Svechnikov.

While the Canes seem to have offense under control — five of the team’s six games have seen the team score over three goals — they have lost half of their games so far. Center Seth Jarvis leads the team so far with seven points, and left winger Teuvo Teravainen leads in goals for wingers, but Svechnikov could easily slide into the lineup and catch up.

Despite suffering an injury with a month left in the regular season, Svechnikov still led all the wingers in goals with 23 — with the next winger having 13 goals. He would also lead wingers with 55 points in 64 games and played an average time of 18 minutes on the ice.

In order to make up for the Russian’s absence on the roster, the Canes signed a new contract with left winger Michael Bunting from the Maple Leafs. Bunting, a 28-year-old drafted in 2014, is still trying to make his mark on the teams he plays for.

With the 2023-24 season just beginning, Bunting has played in all six games for the Canes and has scored two goals and three assists. Although he is on track for 60-65 points this season, those numbers will be from assisting his teammates.

Unlike Svechnikov, Bunting is on the line to assist the goal scorers like center Sebastian Aho and right wing Seth Jarvis — he is not the “star” of the line. Being able to assist the goal-scorers on the line is a good way to rack up assists for yourself, but not top-winger material.

In order to be the best winger on a team, you need to be physical and have good offensive power, just like Svechnikov. While Bunting might have some Canes fans head over heels, the loyal Caniacs should not forget about their All-Star winger who is just waiting to break out again.