The Carolina Hurricanes came up just short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, falling to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. They were unable to overcome their lack of goal-scoring down the stretch of their postseason run. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell signed forward Michael Bunting in a move that should help add some scoring at the forward position as they look to be contenders yet again this season. Another area that Waddell and the front office addressed was toughness and edge with the addition of several players known for their strengths in that area including Bunting as well as defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Brendan Lemieux.
Another big offseason move by the front office was signing star center Sebastian Aho to an eight-year extension that will keep him in Raleigh until at least the 2031-32 season. The Hurricanes have done a great job of locking up their young talent at the forward position for the long term, with Andrei Svechnikov and Jesperi Kotkaniemi already signed to long-term deals.
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The Hurricanes were rumored to be in the running for both Vladamir Tarasenko and Erik Karlsson for much of this offseason, but neither of those moves came to fruition with the former signing with the Ottawa Senators and the latter being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes make any other moves before the season begins or if they are active at the trade deadline depending on how the season is going at that point.
Let’s take a look at my three hottest takes for the Hurricanes as we quickly approach the start of the 2023-24 season.
Hurricanes Will Have 3 30-Goal Scorers
The biggest question mark the Hurricanes will have to answer this season is whether or not they have enough goal-scoring to get over the hump in the postseason to bring home the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006. I believe that their current group of forwards will answer that question with a resounding yes this season. My prediction is that they will have three 30-goal scorers from the forward’s group.
Aho and Andrei Svechnikov have both eclipsed the 30-goal threshold before, with the former doing so four times and the latter doing so once. I look for both of them to go over the mark again this season and expect either Seth Jarvis or Martin Necas to be the third player joining them in the 30-goal club for the 2023-24 season.
Seth Jarvis Will Produce 65+ Points
In an article published last month, I talked about why I expect Seth Jarvis to have a breakout season in 2023-24. One of the main reasons I listed was due to Jarvis’ expected goals total of 25.2 last season. Jarvis is known for his speed and finishing ability so I would be very surprised if he finishes 10+ goals below his expected goals total again this season, which leads me to believe that he can easily have a career-best goal-scoring season this year.
I expect Jarvis to thrive alongside Aho this season and if he can reverse his finishing luck, I expect him to blow past this prediction of 65+ points. He has shown the ability to be a star in the NHL at times during his first two seasons in Raleigh, and I expect him to be more consistent with his production this season.
My prediction for his 2023-24 season is 72 points (31 goals and 41 assists), which would set career highs in all three categories for the young Canadian forward.
Hurricanes Will Set Franchise Record for Wins
My final hot take for the 2023-24 Hurricanes is that they will break their franchise record for wins in a season. The current best was set in the 2021-22 season when they finished with a 54-20-8 (116 points) record. I expect the offseason moves as well as the return of a healthy Svechnikov to allow head coach Rod Brind’Amour to lead the team to a franchise-best season.
Another reason why I believe the Hurricanes can set a franchise record for wins this season is the progression of Jarvis. If he’s able to have a career-best season, I fully expect the Hurricanes to improve upon their franchise record of 54 wins due to the impact his increase in production would have.
My prediction for their record in 2023-24 is 56-19-7 (119 points).
It will be interesting to see how things play out for the Hurricanes this season. I’m most intrigued to follow how Seth Jarvis performs this season as well as if the goal-scoring issue continues to pop up early on during the season. One thing for certain is that I expect the Hurricanes to clinch a playoff berth for the 6th consecutive season as they look to contend for the Stanley Cup.
