Early-April exit interviews have become somewhat of a tradition for the Carolina Hurricanes. Following the team’s eighth-straight season without playoff hockey, General Manager Ron Francis and head coach Bill Peters addressed the media at PNC Arena Wednesday afternoon to discuss the end of the season and the summer ahead.
“I think I go into every season thinking that’s our goal,” Francis said. “We want to make the playoffs and get a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. This year was no different. When you look at things, there’s a lot of things we got better in. There’s a lot of things that maybe stayed status quo at the end of the day. It ended up not being good enough.”
There are many issues that kept the team from the playoffs this season, the biggest being poor goaltending. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack each posted poor numbers, with Ward putting up a goals against average of 2.69 and save percentage of .905, and Lack with 2.64 and .902. Those combined for a team goals against average of 2.8, the 13th most in the league, and a save percentage of .901, tied for 27th. The highest goals against average ranking among playoff teams was the Toronto Maple Leafs at ninth, and the lowest save percentage was the Boston Bruins at 23rd. Francis did not mince words about what has been an Achilles’ heel for his team for years.
“If we look at the team, it’s not a secret,” Francis said. “Our goals against was [20th], our save percentage was tied for 27th in the league. That’s certainly an area we’ve got to look at real closely and fix for next season.”
Francis has already taken one step in fixing the team’s poor netminding. He announced that goalie coach David Marcoux will not be brought back next season. Marcoux worked with the Canes’ goalies for the past three years, and they finished in the bottom-five of the league in team save percentage in each.
In terms of adding goaltenders, Carolina will have options. The upcoming expansion draft could help to open those up, with teams perhaps willing to deal a goaltender rather than losing them for nothing to the Vegas Golden Knights. Signing a free-agent goalie could be an option as well, with Scott Darling of the Chicago Blackhawks or Ben Bishop of the Los Angeles Kings being potential options.
“I think we’re in a position where we have some options to look at doing some things,” Francis said. “Certainly with the expansion draft, there may be goaltenders that teams are going to lose that they’re willing to trade, so we can look at that. I think there’s going to be goaltenders on the free agent market; we can look at that. We’ll also dive deeper into our situation and try to figure out what’s going on there as well.”
The expansion draft could open other options as well, besides just trading for goaltenders. Teams have the option of protecting up to 10 players, and some with an excess of players they want to protect may be willing to trade. The Canes’ plethora of draft picks, with 11 total and seven in the first three rounds, could create more possibilities.
“I think we’re hoping with the fact that teams feel they’re maybe going to lose things that they may be looking to pick up an asset rather than lose something for nothing,” Francis said. “I do think with 11 picks in this year’s draft, seven of which will probably come in the top 80-85, that maybe we have some of the pieces necessary to do some of those things. We’re looking at all options, and we’ll see how things play out here over the next few months.”
For Peters, a lot of the focus will turn to correcting what ailed the team this past season and kept it from reaching its goals. One of the biggest ones was its inconsistencies, with multiple prolonged losing streaks ultimately sinking the season.
“There’s lots to change,” Peters said. “I think there’s lots of work to be done. I think it’s realistic that it can be done and accomplished. Our streaks, our negative streaks, our losing streaks, our streaks where we don’t get points or find a way to grind out a point in certain games ends up hurting you. Too many wild fluctuations that way. Can’t go on extended losing streaks. Our start should have been better than what it was. We wasted some points on the road. That can’t happen, won’t happen, moving forward.”
Along with poor goaltending, the team also struggled to score goals throughout the year, ranking 20th with 2.59 goals for per game.
“You’re always looking to add goalscoring in your lineup,” Francis said. “So, if we can find a player or players that can get us another 20 goals, then certainly that’s something we’re going to explore doing. We feel that’s another need for us.”
Just because adding players is the responsibility of the general manager does not mean coaches do not get their say. Peters knows what needs to be added to his team to make sure the playoff drought does not reach nine next year.
“I think we have specific needs, very specific needs,” Peters said. “As a coach, I’m going to give very specific names and put them in situations where they’re going to help a person on a line, in theory.”
If the right pieces can be added and the team can make the necessary improvements, Peters and Francis are confident the team can take the next step. With a strong young defensive core of Justin Fauk, Jaccob Slavin, Noah Hanifin and Brett Pesce, and an improving forward group that includes leading goal-scorer Jeff Skinner, rookie standout Sebastian Aho and Swedish playmaker Elias Lindholm, there is a strong foundation to build around, with more young guns on the way.
“I’m really excited about moving forward next year,” Peters said. “Excited about actually being at camp from the start of camp, having a better handle on what we have, who we don’t have. Really excited about what’s going on in Charlotte right now, who’s driving that bus. I’m excited about the fact that we have seven picks early, and I hope we maybe use three of them. So, you know which direction [Francis] and I will be talking about here shortly when we get to meet. The thing that I’m really excited about is the steps that certain guys took.”
While the Canes face an eighth-straight extended offseason, there is hope it will be the last for a while. If the team can make the necessary additions and internal improvements, next season may be the start of a different kind of streak for Carolina.
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin looks for an open pass to clear the puck. Slavin recorded one assist in the Hurricanes' 2-1 victory over the Oilers in PNC Arena on Friday.
