The Carolina Hurricanes have had a wild ride for their 2024-25 season. From going 16-5-1 to start the season to having a .500 run between November and December to seeing a resurging January and March, this team has seen it all. Moreover, Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven, and Mark Jankowski have been key additions to Rod Brind’Amour‘s seventh team under his tutelage since becoming the head coach in 2018-19. They punched their ticket to the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season after winning 5-1 over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, April 9. The Hurricanes finished their home slate of games at 31-9-1, tying the 2005-06 team (31-8-2) for most wins at home in a season. Furthermore, they have clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL Playoffs and will take on the New Jersey Devils. While two games are remaining and a chance for another 100-point season in Raleigh, there is no doubt that the Hurricanes keep bringing the magic to the Carolinas.
7th Time Dancing for Brind’Amour’s Canes
The Hurricanes before the start of the Brind’Amour era had an interesting history when it comes to the NHL Playoffs. Before their current seven-season run of making the postseason, they only made the playoffs five times between 1997 and 2009. Two of those seasons had Stanley Cup appearances – 2002 and 2006 – with the latter being the franchise’s only championship. Other than that, they went from 2009-10 to 2017-18 without making the part of the season where it really mattered. The team was always too good for a lottery pick, but never good enough for the playoffs. They were in that dreaded purgatory no franchise wants to be in for any sport. Over time, they acquired players via the draft who ended up becoming key pieces of the current core in Raleigh.
Adding Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Andrei Svechnikov, etc., were the building blocks to what became the rag-tag wild card crew that saw the Hurricanes make the postseason in 2019 and go on their Cinderella run to the Eastern Conference Final. After that, it was just acquiring more pieces for the nucleus of the team from the draft and trades. They picked up Brady Skjei and Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers in 2020. The rise of Stephan Noesen after winning a Calder Cup title with the Chicago Wolves in 2022, along with Jalen Chatfield and Jack Drury, drafting Pyotr Kochetkov with the pick from the Jeff Skinner trade, the same trade that also landed them Alexander Nikishin. Furthermore, they drafted Seth Jarvis 13th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft after acquiring the pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Slowly over time, the Hurricanes went from a middling franchise with rumors of relocation to a surefire playoff contender every season. This was the first season where Brind’Amour’s team was doubted to make the playoffs after losing six players from the 2024-25 group. Some believed they could make the wild card or miss the postseason entirely. 80 games later, they will be a team that could surge their way to a deep playoff run. They’ve won six straight Round 1 matchups and are looking to make it seven for seven. The Hurricanes are also one point away from another 100-point season under Brind’Amour.
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It has not been an easy road, however, the mindset has always been to win and get in. After that, it’s sticking to the main overall goal for the Hurricanes: win the franchise’s second Stanley Cup. There could be some extra help on the way after signing Nikishin to his two-year entry-level contract on Friday, April 11. Also, with a healthy Jesperi Kotkaniemi returning on Wednesday, April 16, the Hurricanes could be poised to be a team loaded with depth to overcome any adversity in the playoffs. Everyone talks about getting hot at the right time. There is no doubt that a Brind’Amour team will be ready to go when Round 1 starts here very soon.
It just comes down to staying healthy with two games left in the regular season. As long as they can keep all their players healthy through the Montreal Canadiens (April 16) and Ottawa Senators (April 17) games, we could see a well-oiled and loaded Hurricanes team make a run in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.
Extend Taylor Hall
Hall has been one of the best additions for the Hurricanes this season after acquiring him in the Jan. 24 three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks. Since joining the Hurricanes, Hall has had eight goals and 15 points in 29 games. In 17 fewer games, he is one goal away from tying his nine he had with the Blackhawks in 46 games. Furthermore, he has already surpassed his power-play goal (four) and point (six) totals, along with game-winning goals (two) in his time in Carolina. His ice-time average with the Hurricanes is 15:24 compared to the 14:59 in Chicago. Even his shooting percentage is higher with the Hurricanes (13.6%) compared to the Blackhawks (11%). All in all, the team is seeing flashes of the 2018 MVP that Hall was with the Devils. Even more so, he is showing glimpses of his time with the Boston Bruins, who set a franchise record in wins in 2022-23.
All of that to say, the Hurricanes need to extend Hall past the 2024-25 season. The cap in 2025-26 is going up to over $93 million and possibly even higher. The team will have a ton of money available to them to extend Hall and even a couple of other guys (Eric Robinson), so it would make sense to keep the 33-year-old around longer. He mentioned on the What Chaos! podcast that he hopes to finish his career with one team and not keep moving around. Furthermore, he even mentioned that he hopes it’s Carolina, and he and his wife are open to that idea.
Currently, Hall is in the final year of his four-year, $6 million deal which he signed with the Bruins in 2021. Even with the cap going up, the Hurricanes could sign him to a three-year, $4 – $4.5 million deal to keep him until he is 36. Hall has more than shown that he fits into the system well, especially when playing mostly top-six minutes and on the top power-play unit over the last few weeks. He is another veteran presence that could help the current leadership group and bring along younger players, i.e. Jackson Blake and Stankoven, as they grow with the Hurricanes.
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Hall has been there and done that, outside of winning a Cup, which he hopes to do with the Hurricanes. Giving Hall a full training camp and season with the team could be an even bigger boost for both sides in 2025-26 and beyond. There is enough money to play around with to keep Hall and add more players to a roster that could see a reload this upcoming offseason. Either way, Hall has to be a part of the eighth rendition of the Hurricanes in the Brind’Amour era.
Two More Until Playoffs Begin
Two games are remaining for the Hurricanes as they take on the Canadiens and Senators in their third back-to-back in April. They are currently 47-28-5 (99 points) and are still somewhat within striking distance of the second seed in the Eastern Conference. All they need is one point for another 100-point campaign and are looking to get back to a respectable road record. As of now, they are 16-19-4 on the road going into the last two games of the regular season. If they win both, it would give them an 18-19-4 record, which is okay, not great, but at least it will be one game under .500 compared to three or more. The hope is to win away from home, especially in the playoffs where road wins help end series quicker. It’ll be interesting for the Hurricanes as they travel to Canada to wrap up the 2024-25 regular season. What a run it’s been, but their journey is not over yet. The playoffs will be here soon.
