Columbus Blue Jackets and the Metro Part VI, The Hurricanes
The Metropolitan Division is home to the last three Stanley Cup Champions. How do the Columbus Blue Jackets stack up heading into the 2018-2019 season?
It has been quite the offseason for the Carolina Hurricanes. New ownership has prompted a change in management style and tactics that have shaken the team from the ground up. The Columbus Blue Jackets will certainly see a far different Canes team on the ice in the 2018-2019 season.
The Hurricanes continued the trend of Metro teams getting lucky in the draft as they had the 11th best odds heading into the lottery, but ended up with the 2nd overall pick. That put them in position to draft Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov who will likely make the squad out of camp. He is an elite scoring threat and is yet another young, goal scoring weapon on the Canes roster.
He will have to help cover the offensive gap that was left when the team traded away Jeff Skinner just over a week ago. In an obvious salary dump, the Canes shipped away the 30-goal scorer to Buffalo for three draft picks (none of them 1st rounders) and prospect Cliff Pu.
Carolina also traded Elias Lindholm to the Calgary Flames in late June. They also included offensively minded defenseman Noah Hanifin in the deal. Coming back was equally offensive minded blue-liner Dougie Hamilton and forward Micheal Ferland along with defensive prospect Adam Fox.
The trade helps the Canes save money on future Hanifin and Lindholm contracts that would be massive but the on-ice value is a net loss. Creating the best on ice product isn’t what the Canes front office is trying to do, which is good news for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Although they will field a competitive squad, the Canes will likely take a step back this year as they still haven’t addressed their goalie issues unless you are a Petr Mrazek believer. He signed a one-year deal with the Canes in the offseason but won’t address their needs between the pipes as he has never proven he can be a legitimate number one goalie in the NHL.
The motive for their moves in the offseason was never to put a better team on the ice. Rather, it was to create a sustainable economic entity that can make new owner Tom Dundin the most amount of money possible while they “rebuild”.
Last year the Columbus Blue Jackets went 2-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes. I expect that record to improve this year and for the Canes to be out of the playoff hunt by December.
Next. How to Sound Smart when Talking about the Panarin Situation. dark