We are now solidly in the teams that don’t have anything specific wrong with them. For instance, all the Hurricanes need is a little bit of time, a little more offense, and the pairing of Hanifin-Faulk going forward and they’re going to be legitimately great. With many teams in the East’s windows closing – the Penguins (yes, this is their window closing. Don’t expect this to be a regular thing), the Rangers, the Red Wings – the Hurricanes are one of the teams solidly on the rise and already working their way to the top.

So how can they be improved? Again, there are some ways they can be better, but these aren’t make or break things. With good drafting, more experience, and the end of the 2006 team – no more Staal and no more Ward – the Hurricanes are starting fresh in the playoffs.

The Panthers won’t be Carolina’s only good team for long.

1. Offense

As stated previously, the Canes need a good offense, because they have a young (pretty good) defense, and will be looking into the goalie market – Cam Ward is past his prime and Eddie Lack may not be the solution. The Canes leading scorer after getting rid of Kris Versteeg and Eric Staal was Jeff Skinner at 51 points, not bad, but not elite either. They need that elite scorer, the guy who can get them 30 goals a season. They don’t have it yet. In fact, they need a complete first line overhaul, because none of the guys currently on there are playoff-worthy. They have plenty of cap room, and so should be able to get whichever three guys they want. In addition, the rest of the team would work well being bumped down a line, and would give the Hurricanes depth to work with and grow. Jordan Staal and Victor Rask are not bad centers, they just aren’t first line.

2. Goaltending

Like I’ve said, Cam Ward will be leaving this team. They’ve gotten rid of all their past-their-prime players, and while Ward has done the Hurricanes tremendous favors in the past, including bringing them a Cup, he’s no longer that same goalie he was. Eddie Lack was far worse than Ward throughout the year, and so there is no reason for the Hurricanes to trust him as their starter either. Which means they are a team hunting for their guy, someone who they can grow with and build around for the future – their own Matt Murray. Alex Nedeljkovic, their best goalie in the Canes system, is undersized but athletic, and he needs a solid defense around him to make him truly great. With Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, and Jaccob Slavin, the Canes are half way there.

3. Free Agency Problem

The Hurricanes are another team with a lot of their talent reaching free agency, and it’s one of the main issues the Hurricanes must address going into the summer. They need to re-sign Victor Rask, and should be cutting the other free agents from their team. What this means, though, is that a lot of the roster needs to be replaced, and while the Canes should focus on the high end talent, they should also be cognizant that they will be losing a lot of players, and that they will need to replace this depth either through the draft, calling up prospects, or signing less popular free agents in July.

4. Raising the Kids

Along with Nedeljkovic, who I’m just gonna call Needle from here on out, (I’m gonna start a trend) the Canes have some other tremendous prospects within their system. It may be time to bring them up, since the Canes are currently missing talent after trading away their best wing in Versteeg, one of their veteran defensemen in Liles, and their captain Eric Staal. While Justin Faulk should step up as Canes captain going forward, they will need that defense and forward role fulfilled. Who better than Haydn Fleury and Sebastian Aho, the two best prospects in the Canes system.

And the Canes will be getting some legit picks this year as well, with a first round pick from the Versteeg trade and their own first rounder. They should be able to add these players to the core and continue getting younger, deeper, and better.

Again, the Hurricanes are one of the teams that the phrase “three good years” applies to. If they have three good years, they will be a playoff contender, and one with the potential to go deep into the playoffs, because in three years the whole field will have changed.