Hurricanes' biggest reasons for concern during 2024-25 season

12/16/2024 07:40 PM

Fans watched in awe as the Carolina Hurricanes stormed out of the gate in 2024-25 as one of the best teams in the NHL. Carolina played an incredible brand of hockey and seemed like one of the clear contenders in the Eastern Conference. And to be fair, this is still a great hockey team. But the Hurricanes’ wheels have fallen off just a little bit.

The Hurricanes entered play on November 21 with a 14-4-0 record. Since then, they are 4-6-1 and now hold a record of 19-10-1. Again, this is still a fantastic record without a doubt. But Carolina sat in first place in the Metropolitan Division on November 21. Now, the Canes find themselves in third place, five points off the Washington Capitals.

The Hurricanes have a lot going their way at this time. Players such as Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho have stepped up in major ways. Moreover, some unsung players like Jack Roslovic have also made important contributions. In saying this, there are still some concerns around this team. With this in mind, here are the two biggest reasons for concern as the 2024-25 season continues.

Goaltending depth is non-existent

The Hurricanes entered the season with a somewhat clear picture in goal. Frederik Andersen returned on the final year of a two-year contract as the starting goalie. Behind him is 25-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov, who Carolina has high hopes in moving forward.

However, this season has shown that the Hurricanes still lack legitimate goaltending depth. Andersen is out with injury at this time, complicating matters. Overall, Carolina has started five different goaltenders. The latest is 35-year-old Dustin Tokarski, who hadn’t started in nearly two years before a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Kochetkov has played the majority of games, appearing in 19 of Carolina’s 30 contests entering Monday. However, the only positive standout — beyond Tokarski’s 27-save shutout on Sunday — has been Andersen. Andersen has only played four games, though. Kochetkov has a serviceable .895 save percentage while Spencer Martin has an unsightly .846 save percentage, according to ESPN.

The Hurricanes cannot continue with their current depth in goal. Banking on Tokarski to consistently play well is a bit of a tall ask given his track record. Moreover, Martin is simply unplayable at his current run of form. If Carolina does not correct its goaltending depth, the team could have some major issues once the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around.

Hurricanes still lack high end goal scorer

The Hurricanes made the Jake Guentzel trade at last year’s NHL Trade Deadline for one important reason. Carolina has, for a long time, lacked a true goal scorer. You have to go back to 2008-09 to find the team’s last 40-goal scorer. They have come close, to be fair. In fact, Sebastian Aho likely would have surpassed the mark had the 2019-20 season not been canceled due to COVID-19.

In any event, the Hurricanes have needed a high-end goal scorer for a while. In 2024-25, there are a few candidates who could reach the 40-goal mark. Martin Necas, for instance, is on pace for 37 goals this year. Jack Roslovic is surprisingly on pace for 35 in his own right. And Andrei Svechnikov is playing at a 30-goal pace.

The issue here is that none of these players look like a candidate to breakout as the team’s primary finisher. Necas certainly could do it, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he did given his dynamic season. However, if he maintains his current pace, he would only surpass Aho’s team-leading 36 goals from last year by one goal.

As a team, the Hurricanes are doing quite fine scoring goals. They are fifth in the NHL in terms of Goals For Per 60 Minutes at 5v5, according to Evolving Hockey. Moreover, they are fourth in GF/60 at all strengths. Their xGF/60 ranks second at 5v5 and third at all strengths, as well.

However, their numbers weren’t too far off in 2023-24. And dating back to 2019-20, Carolina has had the sixth-highest xGF/60 in the entire league. The issue isn’t that Carolina cannot score goals. It’s that they lack a true game-changing goal scorer who can come up in the big moments. This issue could resurface in 2024-25 if something doesn’t change.

The post Hurricanes’ biggest reasons for concern during 2024-25 season appeared first on ClutchPoints.