The Hurricanes are going in the right direction, but unless their youngsters step up and they get better goaltending, the playoffs are out of the question this year.

THN is rolling out its 2016-17 Team Previews daily, in reverse order of 2015-16 overall finish, until the start of the season.

THN's Prediction: 7th in Metro

Stanley Cup odds: 68-1

Key additions: Lee Stempniak, RW; Teuvo Teravainen, LW; Bryan Bickell, LW; Viktor Stalberg, LW

Key departures: James Wisniewski, D; Riley Nash, C; Nathan Gerbe, LW; Brad Malone, C

THREE QUESTIONS:

-Can the young defense keep it together? The Hurricanes found their form once rookie blueliners Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin took on bigger roles last year, and they’ll need to continue their ascent if Carolina has any shot at the playoffs. Justin Faulk is still the main man on the back end, but all the Hurricanes’ young defensemen have a coach in Bill Peters who believes in them. They already played without a safety net once, so they’re bound to improve. Will there be hiccups along the way? For sure. But the Canes have more work to do up front, so the defense can grow organically without worrying about hurting the result.

-Does Cam Ward have anything left? Although he showed glimpses of his old self in 2015-16, Ward, 32, also got beat up on the scoreboard just as often, if not more. Taking a big pay cut may put his mindset in the right perspective, but there likely won’t be another NHL contract in Carolina for the veteran goaltender once his new two-year pact expires. If anything, he becomes a solid mentor once Alex Nedeljkovic gets a chance to see his first action in an NHL arena.

-Who will step up at center? Jordan Staal and Victor Rask are pencilled in, but the Hurricanes need a youngster to step up, too. Teuvo Teravainen, Elias Lindholm and Sebastian Aho have all played center and wing in their careers, so none can be considered a true NHL pivot just yet. Lindholm must get stronger first, while Aho hasn’t played a shift in the league, so give the inside track to Teravainen. He cut his teeth in Chicago and has the Stanley Cup ring (and scoring heroics) to prove his worth. If none works out, there’s always the 2017 draft class to check out.

Player projections are based off a three-year version of Game Score (which you can read about here) weighted by recency and repeatability and then translated to its approximate win value (Game Score Value Added or GSVA). Team strength was derived from the combined value of every player’s GSVA on a team. The season was then simulated 10,000 times factoring in team strength, opponent strength and rest.

BY DOMINIK LUSZCZYSZYN

From a statistical perspective, the Carolina Hurricanes are a very interesting team. Last season they finished 11th in score-and-venue adjusted Corsi with a mark of 51.4 percent, and 29th in PDO at 98.3.

Some people are optimistic about Carolina’s chances because of those numbers. The first suggests they do a good job at controlling play, a genuine sign of talent and potential future success, while the second suggests they were a bit unlucky in converting that territorial advantage into results.

While that may be true, it’s likely that the Hurricanes are one of the few exceptions to the rule. One look at their roster and you’ll see why, as this team is pretty low on scoring talent and goaltending ability.

In net is the biggest area of concern as the team inexplicably re-signed Cam Ward, whose .915 save percentabe ranks 49th of 52 goalies who have played 2,500 or more minutes over the last three seasons. That’s not good, and one of the biggest reasons the team has consistently low PDO.

Up front isn’t much better. Over the last three seasons, Carolina has been below seven percent shooting in each season. Their last three seasons rank 77th, 88th and 81st overall respectively. Other than Jeff Skinner, there really isn’t a pure goal scorer on this team and while shot volume is great, the puck needs to go in once in a while.

Only six players on the team have an above average shooting percentage relative to their position. Two of them, Lee Stempniak and Bryan Bickell, are new additions interestingly enough.

 

There’s some reason for optimism though. The aforementioned Skinner is still young, as are Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask, and Sebastian Aho, three kids with offensive potential ready to blossom. Newly acquired Teuvo Teravainen should greatly help the cause too.

The D is stock full of potential too with fifth overall pick Noah Hanifin as well as last season’s breakout defensive stalwart Jaccob Slavin. With the underrated Justin Faulk as the No. 1, and the young guys ready to step up, the D-corps should be very strong for years to come.

It’ll take time for this team to become one of the East’s best, but they’re on the right path. This year looks to be another difficult one unless the goaltending situation gets figured out, or the team solves it’s scoring woes. They’ve got a solid process down, it’s time to turn it into results.

Up next: Minnesota Wild

Previously: Toronto Maple Leafs | Edmonton Oilers | Vancouver Canucks | Columbus Blue Jackets | Calgary Flames | Winnipeg Jets | Arizona Coyotes | Buffalo Sabres | Montreal Canadiens | Colorado Avalanche | New Jersey Devils | Ottawa Senators

Ottawa is already without Curtis Lazar in training camp due to mononucleosis, and now the Senators are going to be without Mark Stone due to a concussion. There’s no timeline for the 24-year-old’s return, either.

The Ottawa Senators caught a bad break ahead of training camp when young pivot Curtis Lazar came down with mononucleosis, and the breaks aren’t getting any better.

Senators coach Guy Boucher announced Saturday that Mark Stone has been diagnosed with a concussion, and the 24-year-old winger will be on the shelf day-to-day. Boucher said Stone’s health and his recovery progress will be evaluated daily, but, currently, there’s no timetable for his return. There’s also no word on how exactly the injury occurred, either.

Concern for Stone first arose during the opening day of Senators’ training camp Friday. He was part of the skate early on, but left the ice before the skate was over and did not return. Because of the injury, Stone didn’t take part in Saturday’s practice, and there’s no certainty when he’ll be able to rejoin the Senators.

The only good news in all of this — if you can even call it that — is that the Senators still have nearly three weeks to go before the start of the regular season, and there’s no need to rush Stone back into action. Thankfully, Stone doesn’t have a history of head injuries, either.

Outside of Erik Karlsson, Stone has arguably become the center of Ottawa’s attack in just two short seasons. This past campaign, Stone notched 23 goals and 61 points as a sophomore, finishing behind only Karlsson in scoring for the Senators. It was the second consecutive season Stone surpassed the 20-goal, 60-point plateau, and he appears primed to take another step forward this coming season.

Stone took over a top line role in 2015-16, averaging upwards of 20 minutes per night, and he was one of the top 50 scorers in the entire league at 5-on-5. Stone’s 12 goals and 34 points ranked 48th in 5-on-5 scoring, and his 22 assists ranked 39th among at 5-on-5.

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The Maple Leafs' rebuild continues and another last-place finish is very likely, but this year, thanks to an injection of young talent, they will improve, and be fun to watch.

THN is rolling out its 2016-17 Team Previews daily, in reverse order of 2015-16 overall finish, until the start of the season. We start with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished in 30th last season.

THN's Prediction: 8th in Atlantic

Stanley Cup odds: 90-1

Key additions: Auston Matthews, C; Matt Martin, LW; Nikita Zaitsev, D; Roman Polak, D; Frederik Andersen, G; Jhonas Enroth, G

Key departures: P-A Parenteau, RW; Jonathan Bernier, G; Michael Grabner, RW; T.J. Brennan, D

THREE QUESTIONS:

-Who is Toronto’s No. 1 center? Technically, it’s going to be Nazem Kadri again. Yes, highly vaunted rookie Auston Matthews arrives, but he’ll need to be protected at least somewhat, just as Buffalo has Ryan O’Reilly for Jack Eichel. Kadri has been playing some of the toughest competition and coming out with good possession numbers, so really, nothing will change. But make no mistake: in a year or two, Matthews takes over. If his World Championship performance with Team USA was any indication, you basically just have to tell Matthews when it’s time to take over a team and he’ll do it. Must be nice.

-What is the next step for Morgan Rielly? Toronto’s best defenseman at 22, Rielly plays tough competition and drives possession. His offense is pretty decent for a blueliner, but the next mission will be to kick it up another notch. The Leafs were starved for scoring last year, and the power play was a drag. Rielly had eight points with the man advantage. He’s capable of improving on that, and once he does, his totals will be more in line with what they should be. Breaking 40 points should be the goal to begin with.

-Is Frederik Andersen the answer in net? He could be, but don’t expect too much this season. The Maple Leafs may have landed Matthews, but they’re still in the midst of a rebuild that will see them take on more water before the leaks get plugged. Anaheim was a slightly better possession team than Toronto and gave up fewer shots against, so Andersen will be busier. Plus, he'll coming off an injury sustained at an Olympic qualifying tournament. As long as he doesn’t take this year’s stats personally, the workload could help him in the long run.

Player projections are based off a three-year version of Game Score (which you can read about here) weighted by recency and repeatability and then translated to its approximate win value (Game Score Value Added or GSVA). Team strength was derived from the combined value of every player’s GSVA on a team. The season was then simulated 10,000 times factoring in team strength, opponent strength and rest.

BY DOMINIK LUSZCZYSZYN

There’s a lot of pessimism surrounding this team, which is fair because, well, they were the worst team in the league last season, but Toronto will be much improved this season. The Leafs were one of the unluckiest teams last season thanks to abysmal shooting and save percentages, both of which should bounce back this season. The latter should especially improve with the addition of former Duck goalie Frederik Andersen.

There’s also a huge injection of talent coming into the lineup that should boost them higher up the standings. James van Riemsdyk missed half the season last year and his presence alone should be enough to provide a spark. Then there’s the big three prospects who likely make their full season debuts for the team. The trio is oozing with a dynamic offensive skill-set that was sorely missed last year.

Based on his limited NHL playing time, Nylander looks to make the biggest projected impact of the three, and on the team for that matter. He only played 22 games, but it was enough to impress this model into believing he’s already a first line talent. The other two don’t have any NHL experience, so their impacts were based on their projected points combined with the average Leaf forward’s possession driving ability. (Projected points were based on a combination of NHLe and our own Poolbook’s projections.)

Based on that method, the Leafs likely have three of the top five rookies this season with their combined impact being worth roughly seven standings points. (NHLe for players from the Finnish league are usually low so that skews Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi and Sebastian Aho lower than expected).

 

It’s a lot to expect out of three kids, none of whom can even drink at a bar during any road trips to an American city, but these aren’t three ordinary kids. The Leafs still won’t be a good team – especially considering their putrid defence core – and there’s still plenty of pain on the horizon, but there’s plenty of reason for optimism too. This team could surprise this season, although a lot depends on what the lineup actually looks like. They likely won’t repeat as the league’s worst team, but a bottom five finish is still probable.

Up next: Edmonton Oilers
 

Sidney Crosby has won 22 straight and his only concern is making it 23...Swedes must be smarter...Carey Price on beer league hockey.

Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby is on something of a roll lately. Not only did he win his second Stanley Cup in the spring, he enters the World Cup of Hockey semifinal riding a 22-game winning streak in a Canadian uniform dating back to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

Since losing 5-3 to USA in the last game of the preliminary round, Canada won the next four games en route to the gold medal. Crosby’s teams then went 6-0-0 in Sochi and 9-0-0 in games in which he played in the 2015 World Championship before going 3-0-0 in the World Cup. Crosby has nine goals and 20 points in those games, including the golden goal in overtime in Vancouver and a goal in the 3-0 win in the gold medal game in Sochi.

“I didn’t even know about that until today,” Crosby said. “Those don’t really matter going into tomorrow, right? It’s all about tomorrow right now.”

SWEDES CAN’T PLAY ‘STUPID’

Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said his team can’t afford a repeat of its play in the final pre-tournament game when it lost 6-2 to Team Europe, the same team it plays in the semifinal Sunday afternoon. “We played a really stupid game,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We turned over too many pucks at their blueline, at our blueline, all over the ice. When you do that against a team with that much skill, you’re in big trouble.”

Team Europe coach Ralph Kruger said that late in that game, Frans Nielsen pointed to the Danish shoulder patch flag and reckoned he had lost to the Swedes about 200 times during his career. He then said how happy he was to finally beat them. The Swedes know they’ll be playing an opponent motivated by a desire to knock off one of the world’s hockey powers.

“I said right from the beginning I thought it would be great for the guys on Team Europe to have a chance to beat some of these teams,” said Swedish defenseman Erik Karlsson. “Good for them. I wish then all the best, except for on Sunday.”

CAREY PRICE HAVING SOME FUN

During his media scrum yesterday, Canadian goalie Carey Price seemed a little perplexed by a question from Marc-Andre Perreault of TVA Sports in Quebec. Perreault asked Price why Canada always comes into these big games saying it’s just another game when clearly there is so much on the line.

“Because that’s what it is,” Price said. What followed was this rather interesting exchange:

Perreault: “But in my beer league, when we play Maggie’s Corner Store, we get all excited.”

Price: “I don’t know. Maggie’s Corner Store must be pretty good, huh?”

CANADA, TEAM EUROPE WILL KEEP IT PREDICTABLE

Exciting hockey doesn’t always win, but boring hockey almost never loses. And that’s why Team Canada and Team Europe will continue to play predictable hockey for the rest of the tournament.

“I don’t like to feed my family on hope. I like to feed my family on know,” said Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. “I don’t like surprises, not on Christmas, not on my birthday. So I don’t want it anymore. I want it under control.”

Team Europe, meanwhile, won’t be in the mood to trade chances, either. “We’re playing a boring style of hockey, but it’s proving to be a successful one,” said Team Europe captain Anze Kopitar. “We’re proud of it and we’re going to keep doing it.”

BUT TEAM EUROPE WILL BE FAST

If there was one thing we learned about Team Sweden from its game against North America it was that the Swedes had all sorts of trouble handling the speed of the under-24 team. Team Europe is considerably older, but coach Ralph Kruger is keenly aware that it will have move quickly in order to win.

“There’s no question that we really need to be a strong transition team,” Kruger said. “We’ve created a lot of offense out of that. And (Sweden) is probably the best in the world at just defending and staying within their structure right through an entire game. We need to be patient with that. I’m expecting a one-goal game and we need to find our advantage like we did against the Czechs. It will be a similar game at a higher level and we’re going to have to pick it up."