Quoting: Caniac2000
Carolina's core is clear. You have Staal, Aho Teravainen, Necas Svechnikov Zykov McGinn Skinner Faulk Slavin Pesce Hamilton De Haan. It's there, get a goalie and be careful this team is dangerous
I think you should trim that by about half.
In my mind a core of a team is usually 4-6 players. These are the best players on the team and the ones that are the hardest to replace.
For example on the Maple Leafs, they have the core of Tavares, Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Rielly. I wouldn't add anyone else to that because I think they are replaceable. Eventually Liljegren and Dermott will earn their places in the core and at that time pershaps Rielly moves to a secondary position or something. But that group is a group you can build on for a decade.
In Carolina, they have a lot of prospects coming in that I think will develop into their core.
Staal, De Haan, Skinner and Faulk are definitely just support pieces. Some are too old to really be core players (Staal and De Haan) and Skinner and Faulk will be gone soon.
Once your 2 or 3 best forwards separate themselves from the rest of the forwards, you'd be best served with Slavin, Hamilton and 3-4 of your best forwards as your core. Teams that expand their core beyond a small group end up handing out big contracts to guys that can be replaced by younger and cheaper options without losing much talent in the lineup.