What Went Wrong: Category Zero

You know, I think it's high time that we take the Carolina Hurricanes down from that pedestal.

I've been questioning how open Carolina's Cup window has been for about two years now. The Hurricanes made their seventh straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and when the streak began in 2019, it saw them upset the defending champs and sweep their way to the Final Four. It ended there, but still, the window was wide open. Some exits during the COVID-affected years, and a second-round exit in 2022 kept that window open. Then 2023 happened. It was a year of upsets. Carolina went to the Conference Finals. This was their best chance, but they were swept by the Florida Panthers.

That was the year that I started questioning the Cup window. Part of me wanted to close it, but I didn't. Then last year, they were dominated by the New York Rangers. Wanted to close the window there. Should have. Didn't. "Next year better be it," I said. Then it happened again. Carolina was in the Final Four. Best chance to advance. Faced the Mickey Mouse Panthers. Carolina lost Game One. And Game Two. And Game Three.

"Is this really happening again?" I thought. Well, a miracle did happen: they did win Game Four. They were actually up 2-0 after the first period of Game Five, but they gave up three 2nd period goals just like that. Canes tied it, but Florida got the lead back, and an empty netter sealed it.

Well, at least they finally won a Conference Final game.

Regarding stats, Seth Jarvis led the way for the team with 16 points (6G/10A) in 15 games. He was one of two Hurricanes putting up a point per game this year. The other, not surprisingly, was Sebastian Aho with 15 points (7G/8A), and had two goals in Game Five. Andrei Svechnikov had 12 points, but eight of them went in the net, and he also had 22 PIM. Shayne Gostisbehere led blueliners with 9 points (3G/6A), and while Logan Stankoven (who was dealt to Carolina in the infamous Mikko Rantanen deal) had only 8 points, five of those eight went into the net. As for the goaltending, Frederik Anderson got knocked around for the most part in the East Final, but he still finished with an 8-5 record, a 2.02 GAA, a .906 SV%, and two shutouts. Pyotr Kochetkov went 1-1 with a 3.60 GAA, and an .855 SV%. Holy moley.

I've spent the last three years dancing around the thought of closing Carolina's Cup window. Not anymore. The window is closed! It has to be. They've had chance after chance after chance. This was the second time in three years that the Hurricanes were pretty much the strongest team remaining, but they blew it. They've won one Eastern Conference Final game out of their last seventeen outings. They can't beat Florida. It is not hard to beat Florida, yet they get owned by this Mickey Mouse franchise! And there's already talk about whether or not the Canes should fire coach Rod Brind'Amour. Seven years with nothing to show for it would cause people to talk.

So yeah, Carolina's Stanley Cup window is closed. They only look good because the Metropolitan Division is a wasteland. They can't be trusted to beat out real teams with dominance. The fact that they easily dispatched of the Devils and Caps prove it. The Canes do have a hell of a chance to open that window back up. However, the Canes have to do a lot in the offseason to fix their current woes, and that time will tell if that actually includes giving Brind'Amour a pink slip. I doubt that will happen; he's a loyalty hire, but even so, the Canes have a lot to fix, and they need to fix it very very fast.