The NHL season is quickly approaching. To speed up the wait until the puck finally drops on the season, I’ll be previewing one team every day. I’ll be going one division at a time and publishing these in the order I think they’ll finish from first to worst. I’m starting with the Metropolitan Division.

Last year’s finish: 1st

Playoffs: Won Stanley Cup

Predicted finish: 1st

After years of contention and coming up short in the playoffs, it was nice to see the Hurricanes finally get over the hump and win the Stanley Cup last season. This year’s Hurricanes will look borderline identical to last year’s team, so they’re the clear No. 1 team in the Metropolitan Division.

Over the last four seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes have the best expected goals share at five-on-five in the league, and that shouldn’t change this year.

Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven, both just 23 years old, were two of Carolina’s best players in its championship run in the spring and should be even better this season. Sebastian Aho continues to be an underappreciated top-line center, and it seems like Andrei Svechnikov rediscovered the mojo he had before his season-ending knee injury in 2023. Nikolaj Ehlers thrived in his first season in Raleigh, setting a career-high in points with 71. Taylor Hall’s MVP year is long behind him, but he’s been a perfect complementary piece to round out Carolina’s middle six. Conn Smythe winner Jordan Staal is still hanging around, too.

Carolina still has top prospect Bradly Nadeau, who lit up the AHL with 56 points in 52 games last year, waiting in the wings. Carolina’s seemingly endless depth is still here, and there’s an argument that Carolina’s young forwards could be even better this year.

Carolina’s blueline is as good as ever with the likes of Jaccob Slavin, Shayne Gostisbehere and a rejuvenated K’Andre Miller. Alexander Nikishin wasn’t quite as good as his 33 points suggested last year, but he has a tantalizing skill set, is coming up on his 25th birthday and now has a full season of playing on North American ice under his belt.

Carolina still doesn’t have a superstar, but the Hurricanes proved last year that that’s not a requirement to win a Stanley Cup. Plus, who needs a Mikko Rantanen when you can simply roll four lines at will? It took a true team effort to bring the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh, and that same team will be back for another run this year.

Usually, championship teams struggle to keep everyone because of players wanting to be paid more after winning said championship. Carolina solved this by already having most of its roster locked up and being proactive. Goaltender Brandon Bussi, a postseason hero for the Hurricanes, would cost the Hurricanes a lot more than $1.9 million for the next three seasons if they hadn’t extended him before the playoffs. Blake, who led the Hurricanes in points in the playoffs, and Stankoven are being paid just over $11 million until 2034 because the Hurricanes realized what they had on their hands.

It’s not quite all sunshine and rainbows for Carolina, however. The Hurricanes’ forward depth took a hit when Seth Jarvis needed offseason shoulder surgery that will keep him out for the start of the season. Carolina also has a question mark in goal after letting Frederik Andersen leave in free agency.

Bussi stood on his head in the Stanley Cup Final, but he only has 43 NHL games in his career, including last year’s playoffs. In the regular season, he saved 2.81 goals above expected last season. Between Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov, the Hurricanes likely won’t have A Problem in goal, but that duo likely won’t steal very many games.

Over the last six seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes have been a constant. They’re going to dominate possession at five-on-five, be defined more by their depth than their star power, win hockey games and go on a deep playoff run. You don’t have to like how they play, but the Hurricanes’ style and approach to team building has inarguably worked. Only Colorado has had a better points percentage in the regular season since 2020-21, and Carolina is tied with the Panthers for the most playoff wins in that span.

None of that should change for the Carolina Hurricanes this year.

All stats are from Hockey Stats unless otherwise noted