The Carolina Hurricanes enter this season with an added sense of urgency, and without one of their key offseason acquisitions.
The Hurricanes won the Metropolitan Division but for the second straight season failed to get past the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They acquired defenseman Brent Burns in a trade with the San Jose Sharks and forward Max Pacioretty from the Vegas Golden Knights but announced Aug. 9 that Pacioretty needed surgery for a torn Achilles tendon and is expected to be out until February.
Despite missing more than half of last season with a broken foot and a hand injury, Pacioretty had 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games. The 33-year-old scored 77 power-play goals in 850 regular-season games and, when healthy, should boost a power play that finished 13th (22.0 percent) in the NHL.
"It's tough, especially for a new guy coming in," Burns told The News & Observer on Aug. 10. "Being in the same boat with him, you don't know the city, the team. You just want to put your best foot forward and be around the guys, meet the guys, be in the trenches with them.
"The main thing is knowing he'll be OK, and he's being taken care of. You just want him to be in a good place, the best place he can be. There's never a silver lining for something like this. There's never a good time for it."
Hurricanes 32 in 32: [3 Questions | Top prospects | Fantasy breakdown]
Burns had 54 points (10 goals, 44 assists) last season and has played 679 consecutive games. The 37-year-old figures to play on the top defense pair with Jaccob Slavin.
"I'm coming to a time where winning and having a chance to win it all is really all that matters," Burns said after the trade July 13. "I know I'm an older guy. I've played for a long time, but I feel great. I still feel very competitive. I know I can contribute at a high level."
Burns said he's excited to play for coach Rod Brind'Amour, who has guided Carolina to the playoffs in each of his four seasons.
"That's a great team that's competing for a championship every year," Burns said. "Having Rod there, I've heard nothing but unbelievable things about him and the way he goes about his business. I think it was a very easy fit for us. For me, it's just the excitement to come to a new team, and I know what they've been doing the last couple years. That excitement has just taken over."
Once Pacioretty joins the lineup, he will complement a core group of forwards that includes Sebastian Aho (81 points; 37 goals, 44 assists in 79 games), Teuvo Teravainen (65 points; 22 goals, 43 assists in 77 games) and Andrei Svechnikov (69 points; 30 goals, 39 assists in 78 games). Rookie Seth Jarvis, the No. 13 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, emerged in his first professional season with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 68 games.
The Hurricanes averaged 3.38 goals per game last season, ninth in the NHL and fourth best in the Eastern Conference. That slipped to 2.64 in the playoffs, where they blew a 3-1 lead to the New York Rangers in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round, scoring nine goals in the final five games.
"This team is so close," Pacioretty said. "I've been on teams that are close, and you're just one or two pieces away when you're that close. If you're one game away, you just need to add one or two guys, and that helps out your depth tremendously."
