RALEIGH, N.C. — The Hurricanes are just past the halfway point of the 2024-25 season after Thursday’s 6-3 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s been a year of ups and downs for 25-15-2 Carolina thus far.
Let’s look at the Hurricanes’ roster and hand out grades for the team’s regulars over the first 42 games of the season.
A glance at Aho’s numbers looks like any of his previous eight seasons. He’s a point-per-game player who is driving possession. For the second straight year, he’s also a key cog in a very good Carolina power play. But Aho and his ever-changing linemates have struggled to outscore opponents at even strength (28 goals for, 37 against), and the 27-year-old has just five five-on-five goals. Aho’s been fine, but Carolina needs him to be more than that.
At this point, Andersen’s grade for his four seasons in Raleigh is probably an incomplete. He’s been out since late October with a knee injury that required a surgical clean-up, though he returned to practice on Wednesday. Andersen was great in his four early-season appearances, but the question is the same as always: “Can the Great Dane stay healthy?”
Blake, a Hobby Baker finalist last year at North Dakota, has made the transition to the NHL look mostly easy. It’s no surprise that there have been some ups and downs in his rookie year — he had seven goals and 10 points in his first 23 games, two goals and one assist since after scoring his fifth game-winning goal of the season on Thursday — but he’s seemingly got some of his jump back after the Christmas break.
While Burns is right there with Jaccob Slavin in leading the team in ice time, it’s clear he’s no longer the offensive force he once was. He yielded quarterbacking the top power play to Shayne Gostisbehere, though he’s still a key component of the league’s best penalty kill. For the second straight year, his shot-through percentage (percentage of shots attempts on goal) is below 40 percent. He’s never been known for his physicality, but Burns has just eight hits this year, the fewest of any Carolina full-time defenseman.
Carrier is what he is: a grinder. He’s been a great fit alongside Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook on the Hurricanes’ suffocating checking line, and his point production is about what you’d expect (four goals, nine points). His 136 hits rank tied for 10th in the NHL and are already the 15th most in a season in coach Rod Brind’Amour’s 6 1/2 years behind the bench. The biggest concern with Carrier has always been his health, and after playing the first 39 of the season, he’s missed the last three.
Chatfield has taken on a bigger role this year, logging nearly 19 minutes a night compared to 14 to 15 the previous two seasons, and he has held his own. He continues to pitch in a bit offensively (four goals, 10 points), but his value is his ability to defend, particularly when his speed and acceleration are needed. It’s allowed Dmitry Orlov to engage more in the offensive end, and the pairing is winning their battles most nights despite tougher competition.
Drury has become one of hockey’s best shot-blocking forwards, and it even cost him 10 games when he injured his hand getting in front of a point shot on Dec. 10 against San Jose. He’s also become great at the faceoff dot, winning nearly 58 percent of his draws and ranking 11th in the league. Still, he needs to finish more of his chances — his 6.7 shooting percentage is the worst of any Carolina forward with at least 100 games played in the Brind’Amour era — and he hasn’t proven himself as anything more than a fourth-line center so far in his career.
Shayne Gostisbehere: A-minus
Teams sign Gostisbehere to run their power play, and he has done a tremendous job of doing that in his second tour of duty in Carolina. His 27 points — 18 of which have come on the power play — are tied for 15th in the league despite him missing the last seven games with an upper-body injury. The only blemish is his lack of production at five-on-five, where he has nine points.
Jarvis won’t talk about the upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for seven games earlier in the season, but all signs point to it being the same kind of shoulder injury he dealt with much of last year. His production is similar to last season (2.7 points per 60 this year, 2.6 last season), and he continues to be a defensive ace. Yet, like with Aho, one can’t help but feel like there’s another level for No. 24 to reach this year — if his ailment will allow it.
Jost was holding his own filling in for Drury before he suffered an injury of his own, but he’s best suited in the role he’s had — as a 13th/call-up forward. He had two goals in 16 games while logging 10:28 a night.
Kochetkov had the chance to seize the No. 1 job with Andersen injured, but he’s been victimized by the team’s inconsistency in front of him and his own lapses. He’s deserved better, but he could also be better. His past few starts have been encouraging, but Kochetkov hasn’t seized the job as Andersen’s return looms.
Kotkaniemi is trending toward about 40 points with very little production coming from his role on the second power-play unit, but he’s still been unable to earn Brind’Amour’s trust to be the full-time No. 2 center. He logs under 14 minutes of ice time per game, but he’s still prone to bad turnovers and isn’t as consistently physical as he could be. Kotkaniemi continues to leave you wanting more many nights.
Jordan Martinook: A-minus
Martinook is on pace for a career year statistically, is an indispensable part of the penalty kill and has limited his penalties this year (six through 42 games compared to an average of 39 per season for his career). He’s still streaky — 11 of his 20 points came in 12 games from late October through mid-November — but any scoring is gravy when one considers his contributions defensively.
A month ago this would’ve probably been an A-plus-plus, but just as quickly as Necas finally “arrived,” he’s again mystifying observers with his inconsistency. He still leads the team with 48 points (though Aho has closed to within five points), but he hasn’t scored on a goalie since Dec. 3, and it’s again chic to wonder what his future is in Raleigh — especially with Elias Pettersson rumors swirling.
Dmitry Orlov: B-plus
Like Necas, Orlov came out of the gates fast and had 14 points through the end of November. In the last 18, he has five points. Still, he and Chatfield have taken on bigger, tougher minutes and performed well, and Orlov’s physicality can give opponents pause when he’s inclined to throw his body around.
The Hurricanes couldn’t ask for more from Robinson, who has fit in perfectly with his speedy, north-south game while setting himself up for the biggest season of his eight-year career. In 12 minutes per game, Robinson has 10 goals and 21 points, and when Necas was at his best, it was when he was playing opposite No. 50.
It’s easy to get enamored with Roslovic’s team-leading 17 goals, especially since 16 have come at even strength. But there are also glaring defensive shortcomings in Roslovic’s game, and it seems the only time he’s noticeable is when he’s scoring. That said, he deserves credit for excelling at the most important statistic in hockey.
Jaccob Slavin: B-minus
Slavin continues to be an elite defender, but even he’s struggled some this year playing alongside Burns. Slavin also has the lowest offensive output of his career with two goals and 13 points thus far. Slavin is still the team’s best penalty killer, and he’s averaging 2:59 short-handed per game this season — just six Hurricanes players have averaged three minutes per game over the course of a season since 2010-11.
Jordan Staal: B
Staal had just five goals until his hat trick Thursday, but he was still on pace for more points than any of his seasons under Brind’Amour. The Carolina captain remains one of the best defensive forwards in hockey — if you don’t believe me, ask Evgeni Malkin — is the straw that stirs the drink on the PK and still sets a tone with his work ethic. Does the coach sometimes rely on him a bit too much? Sure. But No. 11 still has plenty to give at age 36.
Svechnikov has been Carolina’s most disappointing player. His goal on Tuesday in Tampa Bay was just his second five-on-five tally of the year — the same number as Jost and one fewer than Drury and Carrier. His eight power-play goals are tied for seventh most in the NHL, but the Hurricanes need Svechnikov to be a star. The 24-year-old’s second half of the season will go a long way in determining Carolina’s fate.
It’s starting to fall into place for Walker, whose play has elevated in Gostisbehere’s absence. He’s been engaged physically — both before and after the whistle — and has been more dangerous offensively, even if the numbers (two goals, nine points) don’t yet indicate it. Like Burns and Orlov before him, Walker is seemingly getting more and more comfortable in Carolina’s system and could be setting himself up to play alongside Slavin next year should Burns move on or retire.
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
