We’ll have to wait to find out if the Canes are better on the ice this year, but are they better on paper going into the new season?

In my opinion, Waddell has given them a chance to be better, but a number of things have to go right. Let’s break it down position by position.

Goaltending: The Mrazek-led tandems that the Canes had been using were very effective, but they were outplayed in both playoff series last season. It seemed apparent that they needed an upgrade to contend for the Cup. When they dumped Nedeljkovic and let most of their other free agents go, I thought they were saving cap space for Fleury, knowing that it wouldn’t take much to get him from Vegas. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but if Freddie Andersen is fully recovered from the injury that kept him out for a large part of last season, he should be a bit of an upgrade over Mrazek. He was a workhorse in Toronto, so he could be the Canes first full-time #1 goalie since Cam Ward. However, he developed a reputation for saving his worst performances for when it mattered most. A lot of it may have been the team – he wasn’t in goal for this year’s playoff collapse – but there’s no doubt he let in some soft goals when the Leafs desperately needed him to steal a game for them, so he seems like an unusual choice for a team whose goal is to win the Stanley Cup. I haven’t seen Raanta play much, but he puts up good numbers when he’s healthy, which doesn’t seem to be very often. He should be a better backup than Freddie had for most of his time in Toronto if he can avoid injury.

Defense: Obviously Dougie Hamilton is a big loss, but good teams can often survive the loss of a key player. The Hurricanes approach seemed to be to replace quality with quantity, bringing in four new defensemen. I’ve always liked Ian Cole, and I haven’t seen Bear play much but the capfriendly forum on that trade rates him highly. This should increase their depth and result in improvement in the third pair, even with Gardiner out. I think that strategy could work, especially if DeAngelo can stay out of trouble and regain his form of 2018-19 when he was one of the league’s top offensive defensemen. If he shows any signs of messing up team chemistry, Brind’Amour has the depth to bench him. I think the key will be finding the right partner for Jaccob Slavin, somebody he can bring out the best in like he did with Dougie.

Forward: The forwards have been impacted the least by off-season changes. The top two lines are fully intact, and although they’ve lost some depth and possibly some physicality, this forward group could be an upgrade over last season’s if they can stay healthy. Much has been said about Kotkaniemi. I see him as Foegele’s replacement, so that could be an upgrade if Brind’Amour and his new teammates can bring out more of his potential than Montreal did. McGinn hasn’t really been replaced, but his departure should give Jesper Fast a more stable place in the lineup. I see him on the third line with Staal and Kotkaniemi. Derek Stepan is an interesting addition as a former #1 center trying to re-define himself to be effective in a lesser role as he gets into his 30s, and if he can move up in the lineup from time to time as an injury replacement then that would be a nice bonus. I thought they might bring back Eric Staal for that role after his successful playoff run with Montreal, but maybe he thinks he can still be more than a 4th line center. In any case, the biggest boost they could get wouldn’t come from their new forwards. It’s time for Svechnikov to take the next step and start putting up numbers like Aho.

In summary, this team could still be a contender without Dougie Hamilton, but they need some players to rebound from injuries and other issues, and they need to help their goalie get over his past playoff disappointments.