Over the years, the Carolina Hurricanes have always stocked their cupboards with players from Finland. During the 2022-23 season, they had at one point five Finnish players on the roster. For the 2023-24 season, they are back to the core four they’ve had since the 2021-22 season. The usual suspects for the Hurricanes are Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Antti Raanta. However, fans of the team know that there is an honorary Finn because Seth Jarvis is best friends with Kotkaniemi and he went on vacation last year with all of the Finnish players. Nonetheless, the Finnish players are well-beloved within the Hurricanes fandom because each guy brings their own personality to the team. It also helps that they’re very good at hockey too.
Currently, in the 2023-24 season, the three Finnish forwards on the team are in the top 10 in points for the Hurricanes, and their goalie just achieved the first shutout of the season. As they say within the fanbase, “Finns Get Winns” and they certainly do for Carolina. On Friday, Oct. 27 versus the San Jose Sharks, those Finns led the way in the Hurricanes’ most recent win to go 5-4-0 on the season.
Antti Raanta Claims Hurricanes’ First Shutout
They say defense wins championships and the last line of defense is the goaltender. Coming into the 2023-24 season, the Hurricanes re-signed 34-year-old Antti Raanta to a one-year, $1.5 million deal. This will be his third season with the team dating back to the 2021-22 season when he came to Carolina as a free agent. He got the Hurricanes’ first shutout of the season on Oct. 27 versus the Sharks in a 3-0 win. “Father Finn” as Carolina media and fans like to call him, went on to save all 20 shots that he faced on Friday night in Raleigh. The shutout was the 20th of his career which is fitting considering the amount of shots he saved.
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During his career in Carolina, he has a 36-9-7 record with a .909 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.38 goals-against average (GAA). In the 2022-23 season, Raanta won 19 games at home to go undefeated at PNC Arena. He also won the Jennings Trophy during the 2021-22 season in his first year with the team along with fellow newcomer Frederik Andersen. The tandem only allowed 201 goals all season to win the trophy. He has had a slow start but is currently 2-1-0 on the young season.
Hurricanes’ Finnish Forwards Are Red Hot
Nine games into the season, all three Finnish forwards for the Hurricanes are off to a red-hot start. In the 3-0 win versus the Sharks, all three goals were scored by none other than Teravainen. His natural hat trick led the way for the Hurricanes who were able to sweep the back-to-back at home.
He has been on an absolute heater to start the season being third in the NHL in goals with seven after nine games played. Currently, he is fourth on the team in points with eight on the season. His seven goals do lead the team though. After a down 2022-23 season, it seems that he is back with a vengeance and is putting the league on notice. He is currently in the last year of his contract and is supposed to be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason. With how he has started the season, there have to be talks of giving him an extension somewhere between $5 million to $5.5 million for four or five years. He’s only 29 years old and has been with the organization going on eight seasons.
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He started 2023-24 with four goals in the first three games before scoring the hat trick on Oct. 17. Teravainen had 12 goals during the 2022-23 season and is on pace to beat that before the end of November. His best season in goals was back in 2017-18 when he finished with 23. Is there a chance he could beat that? As long as he stays in the top six and gets power-play time, there is a great chance that he could accomplish that feat. Hurricanes fans are just glad to see him back and scoring in bunches for the team after nine games.
Another Finnish forward who has skated the ice hard to start the season is Kotkaniemi. He’s currently tied for first on the team in points with nine alongside Jarvis and linemate Martin Necas. During the team’s 3-2 overtime win versus the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 26, he had a goal and an assist for two points on the night. On the season, he has four goals and five assists just like the previously mentioned Jarvis and Necas. The chemistry he has with Necas has not missed a step since the two were put on a line together last season.
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As mentioned previously, since the 2023 NHL All-Star Break, Kotkaniemi has 32 points in 40 games for a .80 points-per-game average. He’s in the second year of his current eight-year, $38.56 million deal. After having a career season in 2022-23, he looks on pace to have another one. The best part of how he is playing right now, he’s only 23 years old. He is not even in his “prime” yet and is already starting to become what the Hurricanes wanted in him. Despite not getting any points in the Sharks game, there is no stopping Kotkaniemi as he’s showing no signs of letting off the gas in 2023-24.
It comes as no surprise that Sebastian Aho would be in the top 10 in points for the Hurricanes. After getting two assists on Teravainen’s three-goal game on Friday, Oct. 27, it has put him into fourth all-time in points for Carolina. He is now at 474 points surpassing his head coach Rod Brind’Amour who has 473. The only players ahead of Aho now are Ron Francis (1,175), Eric Staal (775), and Kevin Dineen (544). There is no doubt that he will catch at least Staal within the next four seasons, maybe five at the most.
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Despite missing three games on the road trip due to injury, he has six points on the season in six games played. He is consistently a point-per-game player for the Hurricanes and he’s showing that once again. Aho is currently in his eighth season with the team and the final year of his current contract before his eight-year extension starts in 2024-25. The 26-year-old is coming into his prime and is already considered to be on the path to becoming the all-time greatest Hurricanes player. If he keeps the level of play that he is on right now and keeps knocking down milestone after milestone, there is a chance that he could be that person.
These Finns are Finntastic
As previously mentioned earlier, the four Finnish players for the Hurricanes are making their marks early on. The points that Teravainen, Kotkaniemi, and Aho have already accumulated are a promising sign for Carolina. For the team, they are hoping to see these three help lead the way for the top six this season. All three forwards combined have 23 points in nine games with 12 goals and 11 assists.
For Raanta, he currently is 2-1-0 with a 3.06 GAA and a .867 SV%. The SV% will certainly go up while his GAA will go back to the mid-2.5s like it usually is. All in all, the four Finnish players that the Hurricanes have are starting the season on the right foot. It is only nine games into the season but there is no doubt that the Finntastic Finns will continue to amaze the fans and help the Hurricanes in their hunt for the team’s second Stanley Cup. No matter what happens, it’ll be a fun ride with the Finns as they get Winns.