The Carolina Hurricanes have been the envy of many NHL teams for the past half-decade, building out a sustainable lineup that nicely blended veteran pieces with up-and-coming prospects. Despite the seemingly endless supply of talent, Carolina has never been able to put it all together and go a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Their regular season success over the past 5+ years is nearly unmatched, but the playoff losses have started to lead fans to wonder if this core can be the one that brings the franchise its second Stanley Cup.
Carolina saw a lot of turnover this summer and it could lead the team to take a step back next season. Draft 2-34: D Dominik Badinka , Malmo (SHL) 2-50: F Nikita Artamonov , Torpedo (KHL) 3-69: D Noel Fransen , Färjestad BK (SHL) 4-124: D Alexander Siryatsky , Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk (MHL) 5-133: F Oskar Vuollet , Skellefteå AIK (SHL) 5-156: F Justin Poirier , Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) 6-168: D Timur Kol , Avangard Omsk (KHL) 6-184: D Roman Shokhrin , Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL) 6-188: F Fyodor Avramov , Kapitan Stupino (MHL) 7-220: F Andrey Krutov , Chaika Nizhny Novgorod (MHL) A hectic summer wasn’t enough to knock Carolina off the course of what they do best – win out draft classes. The Hurricanes traded their first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for a pair of picks in the first round – ultimately resulting in swapping Marek Vanacker for Dominik Badinka and Nikita Artamonov.
That value swap would be considered a steal by many public scouti.