We are officially 41 days away from the Carolina Hurricanes’ opening night game to kick off the 2024-25 season on Oct. 11 versus the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena. The upcoming season will be a fresh start for some players while others will want to continue their momentum from the previous season. Regarding the Hurricanes, the hope is that some bounce back to their true forms and help lead the team to its seventh straight playoff appearance. We will be looking at five players who fans should keep an eye on through the upcoming season. Let us begin.
Keeping My Eye on You
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
When looking back on the 2023-24 season for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, it was one to forget for the 24-year-old Finnish forward. He finished the season with 12 goals and 27 points – the lowest point total with the Hurricanes – after having an excellent 43-point season the year before. The upcoming 2024-25 season will be pivotal for him as he goes into the third year of his eight-year contract that ends after the 2029-30 season, making him an unrestricted free agent (UFA). This past offseason saw a plethora of rumors of other teams being interested in the center along with the possibility of a buyout. The buyout would last for 12 seasons dating to the 2035-36 season at $835,000 per year.
The hope for the Hurricanes and Kotkaniemi is that he finds his game from 2022-23 where he had 43 points and 18 goals. What does not help is that he is getting paid $4.8 million per season to be hopefully the team’s second-line center. While he did play there for most of the previous season, he was relegated to the fourth line as a center or even a winger during the 2024 Playoffs and replaced by Jack Drury as the 2C. During the exit interviews back in May he even knew that he had a bad season and hopes to bounce back. He stated when asked about it, “Pretty sh*tty, overall. Tough year for me… I could have been a lot better. I’ll just try to forget this year now and focus on the next one.”
Hopefully, there is a bounce-back season in the cards for Kotkaniemi in a transition year for the team after the roster turnover with Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen leaving the forward core for Chicago and New Jersey respectively. If he has another down season, next summer will be an interesting one with five years left on his contract.
Sean Walker
One of the newer Hurricanes to keep an eye on is 29-year-old defenseman Sean Walker. The Keswick, ON native inked a five-year deal with the team back on July 1 that’ll see him stay in Carolina until the end of the 2028-29 season when he will become a UFA. Last season saw him tally 10 goals and 29 points split between the Philadelphia Flyers (63 games) and the Colorado Avalanche (18 games). Coming to Raleigh, he will be the equivalent of being Brett Pesce’s replacement after he went to the Devils with Noesen. Walker was a .35 points per game (P/G) player for the Flyers and a .39 P/G for the Avalanche while mainly being a more defensive-minded blueliner.
Related: Carolina Hurricanes Sign Sean Walker to 5-Year Deal
When looking at his goals for percentage (GF%), meaning even-strength goals while on the ice versus goals against, he was 55.20% for the Flyers and 55% for the Avalanche. These stats give a strong indication that he does not give opponents chances to score against him or his linemates. Being able to get him for $3.6 million per season over the next five seasons can give the team some structure after the changing of the guard in the defensive core.
Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky was happy when they were able to sign Walker to the contract. He stated, “Sean is a dependable right-shot defenseman who has played all situations at a high level during his career. He is extremely strong at both ends of the ice, and his offensive abilities are a great fit for our style of play.” Walker does have a sneaky offensive game to him, his play in transition will help garner chances for the team this season. As of now, there is no indication where he will be in the defensive pairings if it will be with Shayne Gostisbehere or Dmitry Orlov. Either way, it will be exciting to see the new defenseman in North Carolina for the next five seasons.
Shayne Gostisbehere
A familiar face rejoins the Hurricanes as Gostisbehere is back for a second stint in the Old North State. “Ghost” is back after he was picked up at the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season where he had 10 points in 23 games and was the powerplay specialist for head coach Rod Brind’Amour. He signed a three-year deal that goes until the end of the 2026-27 season where he will be a UFA. During the 2023-24 season with the Detroit Red Wings, the 31-year-old Margate, Florida native tallied 10 goals and 56 points in 81 games. That was his most productive season since he had 65 points back in 2017-18 with the Flyers. Like Walker, Gostisbehere can play on either side of the defensive pairings which can bring flexibility to matchups and strategies for the team during the season on a game-by-game basis.
Related: Carolina Hurricanes Sign Shayne Gostisbehere to 3-Year Deal
Gostisbehere will be the Brady Skjei replacement where he will be the offensive threat and see a plethora of powerplay time. Thankfully for the Hurricanes, he can have a full season of acclimating to the system instead of only 23 regular season games and 15 postseason games the last time he was in Carolina. The three-year deal will give the team some relief in knowing that four of their blueliners (Jaccob Slavin, Jalen Chatfield, Walker, and Gostisbehere) will be together for the next three seasons at the minimum. That will give them flexibility over the next few trade deadlines and offseasons to make moves here and there while having those four as the defensive nucleus.
Martin Nečas
Someone who had an interesting offseason was Czech forward Martin Nečas. The 25-year-old spent all offseason being the center of attention from local, regional, and national media whether or not he was going to stay in Carolina or be dealt by the Hurricanes. In the end, Nečas signed a two-year, $13 million deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $6.5 million. Last season he finished with 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games. That was a drop-off from the 28 goals and 71 points that he accumulated the season prior. It seemed like this past season saw Nečas not get utilized as much as he was during his career year averaging one minute less and being placed on the second power play unit.
Furthermore, he did not play as much on the penalty kill with Sebastian Aho as he did back in 2022-23. It was clear that he was not happy with how he was being used by the team in his lessened role. When meeting with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during the NHL European Media tour, Nečas did mention how the offseason went for him with all the uncertainty. He stated, “I wasn’t sure. Lots of talking between us and Carolina. It was 50/50. I didn’t have the best season, wasn’t happy. But we turned the page, we figured out a way to stay for two more years. … I feel like Carolina is my home. I was drafted there, I played there for five seasons. At the end of the day, I’m happy that I’m back and can prove to people there that I’m better than I was last season. I’m excited, I’m pumped.”
Related: Hurricanes’ Martin Necas Saga Over With 2-Year Contract Extension
Fans were happy to see that Nečas decided to stay and feel that he is ready to prove that he should have more responsibility for the Hurricanes. He knows that he will have to earn it through his performances on the ice and by playing the Brind’Amour system which he has had success in before. It all comes down to having his head coach trust him and that is what he is set out to do. He was asked by Friedman if things could work between the two and if there was a common ground after doubt had set in. Nečas stated, “I think we will and we have to. It’s important for us, I’ve got to give him something for him to give me [more ice time]. I never had a problem with Rod off the ice, we’ve always been good to each other. I’ve got to be better. Be a player he can trust. I’m looking for a bigger role, I definitely want to play more, but obviously I’ve got to show it on the ice and I already talked with Rod.”
Nečas does have a natural gift when it comes to stick handling — he is one of those guys who can stick handle in a London phone booth with ease. Plus, his speed is next level. It will be interesting to see how he will be utilized by Brind’Amour this upcoming season with the team being in a huge transition period with Nečas on another prove-it deal and the expectations of getting paid $6.5 million now instead of his previous $3 million AAV.
Pyotr Kochetkov
The last player that fans need to watch is Pyotr Kochetkov. After the 2023-24 season, it might be time to hand the keys over to the 25-year-old Russian netminder. During this past season, Kochetkov finished with a 23-13-4 record with a .911 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.33 goals-against average (GAA) in 42 games (40 starts). As the season progressed, it became more evident that Kochetkov could be the guy for the Hurricanes going into the 2024-25 season and beyond.
He was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in February and proved he was the best rookie goalie on the season as a whole. Last season, he finished tied for the league lead among all rookie netminders with 23 wins and four shutouts. Kochetkov had such an impressive season for the Hurricanes, he finished with the Eastern Conference’s best save percentage among all rookie goalies. Brind’Amour leaned heavily on him for most of the season with Frederik Andersen out due to blood clots and Antti Raanta struggling in the net. Furthermore, last season proved he can take the bulk of starts while being in a tandem with a reliable 1B in Andersen. He is going into the second year of his current four-year contract that is set to expire in 2027 which makes him a UFA at 28 years old. If the Hurricanes need to figure out their goalie of the future or just hand over the keys to Kochetkov, this is the season for it.
2024-25 Season Cannot Come Soon Enough
While training camps are set to begin in mid-September, fans are ready for October to be here. It seems like every offseason goes by slowly even if there is a lot of news going on like this one. There is just something about having hockey back and it cannot come soon enough. For the Hurricanes and their fans, it will be an interesting one during a period of transition on and off the ice from the players and the front office. No matter what happens, watching these five players will make for some great storylines as the 2024-25 season progresses for the next few months and into next summer. Who are you keeping an eye on this season, Caniacs?
