Mailbag #61: Closing Out The Campaign

What happens now in terms of an AHL partnership? What does next season's goaltending situation look like? Do we think Pacioretty will be back?

By Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff Hurricanes.com

June 02, 2023

RALEIGH, NC. -All exit interviews have been completed and the ice at PNC Arena is unfortunately already out.

We are officially in off-season mode.

However, fear not, summer activities will be here before we know it.

For those still watching, the Stanley Cup will be awarded within the next two weeks or so.

And just two weeks following that will be the NHL Draft.

Two days after the draft ends, free agency will begin.

Free agency will lead us to Prospects Development Camp. And so on, and so on.

Before we know it, hockey will be back at PNC Arena.

And before I ramble any longer, let's get to the questions you all were kind enough to send in.

Do you think Sebastian Aho wants to stay with the Canes? - @dawson\_maz

Aho at his exit interview, when asked about the potential of exploring an extension come July 1: "Yeah, I like it here."

Tom Dundon,

to Luke DeCock this week

when asked about locking up Aho, long-term: "We want to get him on an eight-year deal, done as soon as possible. It's a top, top priority. I think we're on the same page. It's kind of his team now."

It feels like there's reason to be optimistic.

How do you think the AHL situation affects which players make the roster? Are they willing to carry three goalies? - @hteschler87

Don Waddell touched on this a bit at Wednesday's end-of-season availability. He said, "We usually carry 21 players here with our team. We don't like to carry a lot of extras. Next year we might have to carry 22 or 23, just to have those guys with us on a regular basis."

So, it sure sounds like there could be one more roster spot up for grabs at training camp.

Given the who and what we know right now, it'll be an opportunity for players like Jamieson Rees and Vasiliy Ponomarev to potentially make the jump.

As far as carrying three goalies, I think it's very important that the team have three very capable goaltenders that can play the position at the NHL level, but I don't know that I'd see them carrying three healthy goalies on a consistent basis. I suppose it's possible due to the nature of not having an AHL affiliate, but historically, most teams do not rotate three goalies in season.

All coaches say that goaltenders need to play. Having three healthy goalies all only play 27 games each would be ... different.

Waddell also said that there always seem to be injuries at the position, even dating back prior to the Andersen/Raanta tandem days, so whether it is one of the two, Kochetkov, and another netminder, or both returning, plus Kochetkov, the team will make sure they have their ducks in a row between the pipes.

Is the AHL affiliation for 2024-25 going to be a possible AHL expansion team? Or just playing musical chairs with the current AHL teams? - @\_thomas\_wilson / @pdowney88/

Will the canes share a AHL team with another NHL team
— Bug Bennett (@Goalie_Bug) June 1, 2023

Good question, Thomas.

Before we can get to that, Waddell said on Wednesday that we'd have more clarity as to what next season's situation looks like in the next 30 days.

It's too soon to predict what will happen for 2024-25 because there are too many variables, but there are a couple of things to consider.

What if the Chicago Wolves don't have the season that they expect to have and the independent route doesn't work out? Will they grab an affiliate for the following campaign? If so, that frees up a team and allows the possibility of getting back to an even one-for-one, 32-for-32 affiliation setup.

If Chicago does opt to stay without an NHL attachment, there will be affiliation agreements expiring that could potentially lead to musical chairs.

How do you think Rod will try to address the power play struggles going into next year? - @edduncan

The word used on Wednesday was that they tried to make it a more "dynamic" man-advantage in-season, but obviously, it didn't ultimately lead to fruition.

We also heard going into postseason play was that there needed to be more "trust" in the players running their sets on the power plays.

How you blend those two things together for a successful recipe for the 2023-24 season is for the smart folks, a.k.a. Brind'Amour and crew to figure out, but it is something that will certainly be under a microscope.

Of the 21 teams that made the playoffs over the last two seasons, Carolina's power play ranked 18th, capitalizing on just 15.2% of attempts.

Aho one-times the opening goal of the 2023 postseason

What are your thoughts on potentially signing Patches? - @ScottTheOreo

It feels low-risk, high-reward, to me.

Waddell's words on Wednesday were that the team didn't want to "get caught counting on something that potentially isn't there" and it felt like what he meant by that was that the team wasn't going to try and sign him and plan on him being the 30-goal scorer he'd been in the past. The reality is that he's suffered the same major injury twice within the last year and who knows what type of player he'll be able to be if he can come back.

There's interest in having him back, of course, and it was always pleasant to see his kids on the ice with Brind'Amour or at Invisalign Arena on optional days. I could have the wrong reading, but Pacioretty strikes me as the type of guy that would still like to prove he can play since this is not how he envisioned his tenure in Carolina going when he was dealt here last summer.

Plus, his next contract will be well under the $7M AAV he carried last season. If you can ink him on the cheap, and in a perfect world, if he does stay healthy, that could be one heck of a contributor for the value.

Of course, there is always the other side of the coin.

What's our next step this offseason other than roster moves, any plans for upgrades to the arena, training facilities? - @tw1st3d\_w1ll

Our good friends Chip Alexander and Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer were spotted on the M-Level of PNC Arena on Thursday afternoon.

When you see them walking out of the Centennial Authority office, you know

something is going on

.

What was your favorite moment from the season? - @jp\_lavs / @OneTrueZach

When the team hired Josh Lavallee as the first full-time photographer in team history.

What a monumental addition to the staff.