Hurricanes Season Preview

2023-2024 Carolina Hurricanes season preview

Heading into the off-season the Hurricanes had one main goal in mind: replace Robin Lehner, who will be out for the entirety of the 2023-2024 DCHL season.

Early in the offseason the Canes did just that, acquiring Darcy Kuemper from the Florida Panthers for a 1st round pick. Kuemper is a top goalie in the DCHL, and last year posted a 2.31 GAA (6th in the DCHL among goalies with more than 20 games played) and posted a .916 save percentage (4th in the DCHL among goalies with more than 20 games played). These stats also came while playing with a Florida Panthers team that missed the playoffs with 85 points. Add him to the 108 point Hurricanes and the sky is the limit for Kuemper and the Hurricanes.

Free agency came and went without the Hurricanes making a single signing. And then GM Giletto made a trade to solidify the Hurricanes back end, sending Erik Brannstrom and a 4th round pick to Boston for Brayden McNabb and Ryan McLeod.

“We think Erik has all the talent in the world, but he hasn’t put it all together yet and our window is now so we had to get better for the now. McNabb has experience and is a damn good player. He’s the type of player that is the difference between a Stanley Cup win or a playoff exit.”

There’s hardly any turnover from the Hurricanes of last year so let’s look at the lines they’ve run with in the first week of training camp:

After last year’s first round exit against the Flyers, it’s safe to say the Hurricanes players are more motivated and focused than ever.  The Canes start the season at home on October 11th against the Ottawa Senators.