The Carolina Hurricanes roster is set entering the 2023-24 season unless general manager Don Waddell makes a few extra moves. New faces have been brought in, but this team is returning the majority of the same group as last season. The kings of the Metropolitan Division will look to maintain that status and rely on its core players to lead the way. However, there are other impactful players on this roster, who will need to step up their game. Here are three Hurricanes players who need to step up this season.
Seth Jarvis
One player who will need to step up is Seth Jarvis. The 2020 first-round draft pick has made an immediate impact and has established himself as a core player. Jarvis has been with the team for the last two seasons and has shown consistency in his game.
Jarvis is a bolt of energy for this lineup and plays with great speed. He is not the biggest guy on the ice, but he plays a strong game. In his rookie season, he scored 17 goals, 23 assists, and 40 points. He did this in 68 games and was a bright spot on the lineup. In his second year, he saw his production stay the same, but skated in more games.
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Jarvis skated in all 82 games for Carolina during the regular season. Like the season before, he produced 39 points, so consistency has been there for the young winger. However, his finishing ability was also eye-opening. He was an opportunistic forward and generated offense for the team. His 25.2 expected goals placed him third on the roster, but he only had 14 goals for his efforts. In addition, his -11.4 goals above expectations were the worst on the team, and his shooting percentage dropped from 15.5% to 7.5%.
Jarvis will likely play on the top two lines this season, as he has the last two years. The time for him to take the next step is now as he enters the final year of his contract.
Teuvo Teravainen
Teuvo Teravainen has been everything you can ask for in a top-six winger. He has a great shot and is a premiere playmaker. Throughout his tenure with Carolina, he has produced 76 points once and surpassed the 60-point mark three times. However, this season was one to forget.
Teravainen had a year to forget with injuries, and it hindered his game. He missed time with an upper-body injury in November and was out for a month. His production was slow the rest of the way, and he only put up double-digit points in just one month (January). He finished the year with 12 goals, 25 assists, and 37 points during the regular season. This was his lowest goal output since his first season with the team, but he still scored at his expected rate (12.3).
His injury woes continued as he suffered a broken hand in the first round of the playoffs, so missing more time was not ideal. He would return to action and scored one goal in their third-round series against the Florida Panthers. Carolina will need two of their wingers to step up, but also one of their players down the middle of the ice.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
One of the biggest x-factors on this Carolina roster is Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and for a good reason. Since the departure of Vincent Trocheck in free agency a season ago, he is the next man up. It is up to him to center the second line, and after signing his eight-year contract extension, the time has come.
Last season saw a shuffling of the deck with second-line centers. Kotkaniemi saw time there, as well as Paul Stastny. He is younger than captain Jordan Staal and will take on the increased role. Now is the time for him to deliver.
Kotkaniemi is a faceoff specialist (51.4% winning percentage) and prides himself on his defensive play. He does the little things correctly and helps create space for his linemates. Furthermore, offensively he is coming off a strong season and a career year. He scored 18 goals, 25 assists, and 43 points and shattered his previous career high of 34 points during his rookie year. His ability to score at his expected rate (17.6) was eye-opening, and he made his opportunities count when he had them. He had a tremendous individual season but needs to help anchor his lines better.
This past season, he spent most of his ice time alongside Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov. Those two wingers helped lead the team in goal-scoring this season but were not opportunistic with Kotkaniemi. As a line, they generated 10.3 expected goals and scored ten goals as a line. With Stastny, they generated 15.8 expected goals and scored 12. He had success at an expected rate with Necas and Svechnikov, but Stastny had a better ability to generate offense with them. As the second-line center, he needs to develop better chemistry with the top players and help increase production.
For the storm to keep surging, he will need to improve his game, as will the other three players.
Keeping the Storm Surging
Carolina will be a problem next season, led by their core group. Expected by everyone to lead the way is Sebastian Aho, Necas, and Svechnikov. The back end is loaded with an influx of offensive and defensive talent. But the Hurricanes need more from those three players mentioned above to help solve the offensive woes.
Carolina is one of the best defensive teams in hockey. The team averaged 2.56 goals against per game (2nd in the league) and allowed the second-fewest goals against (210). However, the need for the offense is evident, and those three guys will be relied on to help push the pace offensively. Carolina was one of the worst finishing teams in the league, so getting more enormous impacts in that area of the game is huge.
Whether it is the regular season or the playoffs, these three are x-factors going into the season. Seeing them step up will be huge and help keep the storm surging.
