Latest / Jablam Sports Hockey / Carolina hurricanes 2026-2027 Season Preview: Rain, Rinse, And Repeat

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Carolina hurricanes 2026-2027 Season Preview: Rain, Rinse, And Repeat · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Jablam Sports Hockey.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's when I spit my tobacco out and we give you everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Peter Bojarinov, and every episode we break down the biggest topics all hockey fans are talking about.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: With writers, TV, and radio experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're still doing our season previews with the Carolina Hurricanes.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Back on the show is Andrew Schnicker.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: What welcome back, Andrew?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks for having me.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's been a while since I've done any um writing or podcasting.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm I'm kind of a fan these days, but I like to stay up to date, and I've I've kind of been getting the podcasting itch a little bit lately, so it's it's fun to come back on here and talk some canes.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm glad you're you're coming back on.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: See, this is the thing with Carolina and their in their media, they they they want people to love them, but then when you want them to love you and get them on your show, they're like, No, I'm busy, no, I'm busy.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, what?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've had uh gold from like what he does radio Adam, right?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Had him on the show.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Adam's good dude.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I had him on the show, he's busy, and I messaged other people, they're busy.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, Well, it's hard to love you guys when you're not available for us, so you guys are a bunch of jerks over there.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so and in trending now, we'll talk about a new contract on the Carolina Hurricanes and some Jersey Fowls, right?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's drop the puck.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Carolina Hurricanes last year won it all.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the f they were first in the conference, they swept the first two rounds, they flew through, and won the next two, raising Lord Stanley.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: What needs to happen again for them to do the repeat, Andrew?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think what you're looking at um from last year is just the tremendous depth that the team had.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, by by the end of the sea, by kind of the back half of the regular season and into the playoffs, you had Nikolai Ehlers, you know, your prime um free agent signing, prime, you know, scoring threat, had a really good um playoff run too, playing on your your third line with Jordan Stahl and Jordan Martinook.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, again, which just speaks to the depth that this team had throughout.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: You look at what they had with the uh that dynamite second line in the playoffs with Taylor Hall, Logan Stakeovit, and Jackson Blake.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: You look at um, you know, you've got some good pieces up front too, with Seth Jarvis, uh, who will be out for at least a little bit, I think, to start the regular season, rehabbing some shoulder surgery.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Aho and Spechnikov.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: You look at the depth on the back end, which um is something that will probably be a topic of conversation, especially early in the season for the Hurricanes.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, that that's a team that won um in a in what's been kind of a non-traditional way.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think in recent years, you look at the Tampa Bays, the Colorados, the Floridas, um, with some of the superstars that they had.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: The Canes don't have the top-end talent that some of those teams have, but they have, like I said, just tremendous depth.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you look at them bringing back almost everybody of note from last year's Stanley Cup run.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna be looking at trying to do this a similar way, just with being able to roll four lines, roll three defensive pairings.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if there is one thing that gives me a little bit of pause with this team, it's the goaltending.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, Frederick Anderson leaves after a very strong tenure with the Hurricanes, goes to the Edmonton Oilers.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: You've got Brandon Bussey, probably the best story in hockey last year as a you know, career minor leaguer that the Hurricanes claimed off waivers, um, had a great regular season, ended up, you know, a little bit shaky down the stretch, ended up giving the crease back to Freddy for most of the playoffs, but then comes in in relief in that crazy game three against Vegas that the K that you see the Canes almost win and finishes out the Stanley Cup final strong.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: You've got him, you've got Pyotr Kochekov, who I know you want to talk about um a little bit later coming off an injury.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I think you're gonna need to see um one of those two at least, if not you know, both during the regular season really rise to the occasion and prove that they're capable of being the guy.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think they both have the talent to do it.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: We just haven't necessarily seen the consistency throughout a whole season, and obviously with Bussy, it's a small sample size.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, you know, I think if they're gonna repeat, you're gonna see the depth shining through again, and you're gonna see things go well with the goaltending, which I think would is probably the biggest question mark that this team has going into the year.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: If that is the biggest question mark again, of course, like you mentioned, Freddie Anderson leaving.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of talk with the Vesna winner, the MVP, Connor Halibuck wanting out of Winnipeg, and one place is rumored is Carolina.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: What would a package look like in your instance if you were Eric Tolski for Hellebuck?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I think that's an interesting question.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I I think Halibuck has I have some concerns with Hellibuck.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this whole holdout, you know, the behavior that he's exhibiting right now and not showing up to camp kind of at odds with the whole team first culture that Rod Brindamore has built here.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: You're looking at a guy who's, I believe, 34, a lot of wear and tear on him.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, yes, he's played the position at a very high level.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: He is proven if you're the Hurricanes, I I think you probably have to feel at least a tiny bit shaky about going into the year with just a tandem of Bussy and Kachekov.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think if you're Eric Tulski, what you would like to do is make Alexander Nikishan the centerpiece of a return for Connor Hellebuck, given that, you know, he's an RFA.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's been well documented.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: He requested a trade at the start of the offseason.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he did change agencies today, so that's a little bit interesting.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Do we see if there's a circle back to you know, more of a possibility of him playing out, you know, signing a couple-year bridge deal with the canes and maybe see something similar to what we saw with Martin Natchez a couple years ago.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, I I think if you're the canes, you would like to make Alexander Nikishan the centerpiece because it seems very unlikely at this point that he's probably gonna be playing for you this year.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the problem, however, with that is the he is an RFA, and I don't think it's probably very likely that he's gonna want to sign in Winnipeg.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just kind of is what it is.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a desirable destination for a lot of guys.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: It sounded like um one of the reports I saw, I can't remember who it was from today, if it was Sara Valley or Le Brun, um, that he's being a little bit picky about his destinations.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, I don't know if that works out.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think Winnipeg wants a goalie back.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would have thought, you know, Piotr Kochekov would be the more the most likely one going back.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he signed a two-year extension with the Kanes today, so that makes that a little bit interesting.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: I know Winnipeg has talked about wanting a second line forward back as part of the return.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: I would be absolutely floored if the Hurricanes were willing to part with Logan Stenkovin or Jackson Blake for Hellebuck, nor should they.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm Eric Tulski, I'm leaning on my futures to try to get this done.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm even though I extended him, I'm you know, and again, this assumes that Nikishan is just can't be part of the equation here.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: He's not gonna sign him Winnipeg, so there's no point.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm I'm sending Pyotr Kuchekov the other way.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Winnipeg's gonna want a goalie, and I think he's got the higher ceiling of the Keynes goalies.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then I, you know, I'm leaning on that depth and um talent up top of my prospect pool.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: I would really love to try to get it done without including a Bradley Nadeau, the Hurricanes top prospect, just because I think he brings a goal scoring element that's really enticing that I would love to see them give a shot.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Felix Unger Sorum is another good forward prospect who's had a great camp with the Hurricanes, almost made it look like you know, he might be ready to step into a team's top nine, um, especially maybe on a team that doesn't quite have the depth that the Hurricanes do pretty quickly.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I might include him.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they've got some solid prospect defensemen, maybe a Dominic Bedinka.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I'm I'm looking at this, especially with Winnipeg kind of, you know, without a ton of leverage here back against the wall, maybe something like Pyotr Kuchekov, a couple of those high-end prospects, and a couple high draft picks.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's just tough because I don't know if that would get it done for Winnipeg, but at the same time, if you're Winnipeg, like clearly the deal that you've been holding out for is not out there.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the the goalie we've we've seen goalie trades before.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now it's been a very, very long time since we've seen a goalie quite of Connor Hellebuck's caliber traded, but goalies do not get the same blockbuster returns um that you see when a when a superstar skater gets traded, just with the volatility of the position and everything else.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be really interesting to see how this plays out.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: I think if you look at it in terms of contenders, that would be a desirable destination.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think that um hellebucks being quite as restrictive with his destinations as say a Dylan Larkin is right now.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I would say if he's moved, the Canes feel like the most likely landing spot right now, you know, just from a pure speculation standpoint.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Just you know, you hear about the deals that they weren't able to get done with Buffalo and Florida around the draft.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: You again, you look at the canes with the at least futures-wise assets that they might be able to part with, you look at their cap situation, you look at their ability to move a goalie out, you look at again status as a contender as a place he might like to go.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: So if he is traded out, I would be I think I would put the canes as probably the most likely destination right now.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Again, that's no inside information of any kind on my part, just kind of looking at all the pieces.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: All right, yay or nay, halibuck for you mentioned Nichishkin doesn't want to be there, but at least his rights.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: So Nitrishkin, a first, Kochetkov, and maybe one of those B prospects, like a Felix Sorum, yay or nay for you, if you're Tulski.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: I would say yay.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, I I think again Nikishan is kind of your prime tradable asset that you have right now, so that makes sense.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: I just think so I'm saying yay.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm Eric Tolsky, that's a deal that I make, but I think if that was a possibility or something that Winnipeg would take, it would probably have been done a month ago, if that makes sense.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or they can see it still get his rights and then try to reflip him somewhere else to give uh something that they would like.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe and maybe you see a possibility of a three-team trade.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the one that's been floated a couple times is that Nikkeishan likes um Nashville, and they're a team that's talked about him.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe you're trading Nikkeish into Nashville, and Nashville's giving Winnipeg something, and you're giving Winnipeg something, and the Canes get hella buck.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, maybe that's something that works out.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: All right, coach Rod Brindamore, he's done it all.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Cup as the captain of the team, cop now as the coach of the team.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Does he get into the Hall of Fame?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if so, which first?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: As a coach or a player?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's a really he actually was on another uh on a local podcast a couple weeks ago that um Joe Ovius and Joe Gillio, two local um sports media guys for a long time, do that's really, really good.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: They they always put out good stuff.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it was a really interesting conversation because it was talking about like you know, it's it's kind of all in keeping with the canes, maybe like outside the box way of thinking about things and Brenda Moore being kind of frank of like, why does it have to be either or?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Why can't we just look at, you know, inducting the person into the Hall of Fame?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: So you look at him as a coach and a player and everything he's accomplished.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um frankly, I I think his if you look at some of the guys who have been inducted in recent years, I think his credentials as a player should have gotten him in by now.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: If he didn't get in as a player um this past round, you know, coming off of all the buzz of winning the Stanley Cup as a coach after, you know, 20 years after winning it as a player.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that my hopes are super high of seeing him do it as a player.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the interesting thing is you have the builder category, which you look at everything that he has done to grow the game of hockey in North Carolina.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: He came in as a player when it was um, you know, the team was still fairly new here.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: He was part of that final in 2002, obviously the heart and soul of the 2006 Stanley Cup championship team and really kind of bringing helping bring the franchise back from I don't even want to say the dead, almost the worst thing you can be, which is just irrelevant and mediocre, which they were.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they missed the playoffs for 10 straight years before Brenda Moore took over as head coach in 2018.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: And you look at what they've accomplished since making the playoffs every year, making some deep runs, winning the Stanley Cup, getting just back relevant both locally and on the national scene.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, if if I think the silver lining is if he's not gonna get in as a player, which it still could happen, you never know.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes there's a year where it's just all right, we're finally picking this guy that's just the way it falls.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if he's not getting in as a player, I think the silver lining would be that whenever he decides he is through coaching, that he has a very strong case as a builder as well.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: General manager, we mentioned Eric Tolski, has built a solid core that works to Brindomore's strengths, too, it seems.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And plus, they still have tons of cash space.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: How long is their contention window here?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Four years, six years, eight years is it longer?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like it looks like you know, I you know absolutely.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you you brought up trending topics.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the ones today that becomes very interesting if you're a team like the Hurricanes is that by the 2028-29 season, the NHL is prepared for the salary cap to jump to as high as 127.5 million.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: The hurricanes are in phenomenal shape in both the short and the long term.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's no way to other way to spin it.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you look at some of these contracts that are basically now being adjusted for the rising cap um this summer.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: You you know, you look at the most recent one of uh Cutter Gautier and Anaheim, I think getting 13 million AAV.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you look at some of these really high, high-end guys pushing up close to 18, 20 million AAV, the hurricane's highest cap hit is Sebastian Aho at 9.75 million.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you you go down their balance sheet, even if you just look at that 2028-2019 uh year when they think the cap is going to go that high.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: The hurricanes that year will still have Aho at 9.75 million.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: They will still have Nikolai Ehlers at 8.5 million, Andre Svechnikov at 7.75, Seth Jarvis at 7.42, Logan Stankovin, 6 million, Jackson Blake, 5.12 million, you know.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: The D Cor, Keandre Miller, Jacob Slavin, Sean Walker all are still going to be under contract for under for 7.5 million or under that year.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think the Hurricanes are set up in a phenomenal way, just when you look at all of the team-friendly deals that they got locked in for you know high-end core pieces before the um cap started to skyrocket.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so if they want to add, you know, high-end pieces, they want to go out and sign big free agents, they want to trade for somebody, be it this year, be it in future years, they're gonna have all the cap flexibility in the world to do a lot of different things.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, they sure do.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you were to pick out one player to be a breakout player this year, who would it be?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm going with Jackson Blake.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, we saw him as the you know, he kind of had his breakout in the playoffs.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: He was part of that dynamite second line, actually ended up leading the hurricanes and playoff points, but I think you're gonna see his regular season production jump this year.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um depending on how long Seth Jarvis is gonna be out for.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: It wouldn't shock me to see Blake see a little bit of time riding up front with Aho and Svechnikov early in the regular season.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um he had a 50-point season last year after a real you know a strong rookie year.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're just gonna see him getting better and better, more comfortable.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he's a really smart, crafty player.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: He's really good at being around the net and finishing with, you know, um, just make just making really smart plays.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I think he's gonna be a breakout.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're gonna see him, I think you're gonna see him score 30 goals, and I think you're gonna see him push past that 60-point mark at least this season.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Time for some trending now.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned the caps rising, so we're not gonna talk about that.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: But last night in Philadelphia, center Trevor Ziegris was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for improperly wearing equipment in the second period.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, obviously, jersey tucked.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we can't do the Gretzky anymore.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the NHL is really cracking down on equipment infractions.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think of it?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: My question is just kind of like why?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like what what purpose does that serve?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: What is it hurting if somebody's jersey is tucked in?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and ultimately, I think this is gonna be one of those things, you know, that the NHL is like, oh yeah, we're cracking down on it.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And after like six weeks, it's just not a thing anymore because people just don't care.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think a couple years ago you saw them say that they were gonna crack down on actually calling delay of game penalties for face-off violations, and they did for like a month.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then have when's when's the last time you heard about a bunch of face-off violation penalties called?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they especially when the playoffs come, they don't call they usually don't call any of those kinds of yeah.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I and certainly I would think by the time the playoffs roll around, like you you think they're gonna call somebody for having a jersey tucked in a playoff game with all the other stuff they let go.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought when they first when they first started doing the whole jersey tuck rule like a couple of years ago, I it's been now it seems.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was because they're gonna start doing more advertising because they just started talking about like logos on the helmets and on the corner of the jerseys.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: I thought maybe there would be a logo on the back and on the bottom of the jersey, so maybe it was that.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: I know when I'm playing like World of Chell and stuff, I do get a little annoyed if a guy has his jersey tucked and I fully can't see the number.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that also could be an issue if people kids and people are in the upper bowl can't fully see a number.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I can see that, you know, just from a watchability standpoint.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: I I just I will be so I will be surprised if the appetite for cracking down on it sticks around for very long.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and of course, Carolina Hurricanes did sign, like you mentioned, Piotr Kochetkov two years at 3.9.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it looks like they're gonna go with this tandem of Busy and Kochekov, right?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, they've so though both of those guys are signed for the next three years.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: You've got Kochetkov at a two million cap hit this year, and then that jumps to three point nine five million in the bat the the on this two-year extension, and then you've got Busy for three years at 1.9 million.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it for this episode.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Andrew, thanks for joining me again.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no problem.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: It was how it was good to talk to you.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Fans, remember to subscribe to the show in your listening app.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions for us on X, check us out there at Jablam Sports.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.