Burning Questions as Carolina Hurricanes' 2014 Training Camp Approaches

Official practices for the Carolina Hurricanes' 2014 training camp begin on Friday, Sept. 19, when the 'Canes will take the ice as a team for the first time since April.

On the ice, the team hasn't changed very much; forwards Jay McClement and Brad Malone are the only new faces currently projected to make the NHL roster.

Both the front-office management and coaching staff, however, have been drastically restructured and re-imagined. New head coach Bill Peters, along with a largely unfamiliar cast of assistants, will be ambitiously tasked with bringing the full potential out of this perennially underachieving 'Canes roster.

With the start of camp only a week away and the Sept. 21 preseason opener also approaching quickly, breakdowns of five intriguing and pressing questions surrounding the 2014-15 Carolina Hurricanes lie on the coming slides.

"We still believe [Cam Ward] can be an elite goalie in this league," said new Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer last week. "Cam understands what he needs to do to get back to that level. From what I have heard, he chose to work hard [this offseason]."

The reality that Ward and Anton Khudobin could each enter training camp legitimately entrenched in a 50-50 battle for the No. 1 goaltender is almost unbelievable. Ward has a .910 career save percentage and posted an .898 mark last season; Khudobin boasts a .928 career save percentage and stood at .926 last year.

Yet it seems as though both will indeed go into next week on a level playing field. With a fresh mindset and injury-free body, Ward may well be poised for a bounce-back campaign. Will any amount of reasonable improvement, conversely, be able to justify his placement above Khudobin, who kept Carolina afloat for much of 2013-14? It's doubtful.

Competition between the pair could be mutually beneficial, but it would be nevertheless stunning to see good ol' No. 30 roughing the crease come Oct. 10's season opener.

Former second-round selection Brock McGinn captured plenty of attention as the marquee star of the Hurricanes' prospect development camp in July, feeding growing excitement that the 20-year-old winger could be a dark-horse candidate to make the 'Canes in training camp.

McGinn is still riding on the momentum from a breakout 2013-14 OHL campaign, when the 5'11" winger piled up 43 goals (seventh in the league) and 42 assists in just 59 regular-season games.

He'll headline Carolina's team at the 2014 Traverse City Prospects Tournament, which will take place this weekend in Michigan. The 'Canes open against the Sabres' prospects on Friday afternoon.

Next week, it'll be on to NHL camp for McGinn, where he'll compete with Chris Terry, Zach Boychuk, Victor Rask and others for a roster spot.

If the Carolina brass decides keeping him in the big leagues is worth sacrificing the experience of first-line playing minutes in the AHL, McGinn could quickly transform from a roster-spot contender to a top-six-role contender.

The first professional season for Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ryan Murphy began strong, faltered late and answered few questions about the former first-round pick's future.

Murphy, the 12th overall selection in the 2011 draft, appeared in 48 games—but only 10 in the second half of the season—for Carolina in 2013-14. His final NHL total of 12 points fell far short of expectations, and the power play was actually more efficient without him in the lineup than with him.

But Murphy is still only 21. A tumultuous first attempt to break into the NHL full-time may have been the perfect dose of motivation and experience needed to make the second try a success.

And that aforementioned second try begins next week. The 'Canes made the questionable decision to not add a veteran second-pairing defenseman during the offseason; they'll desperately need someone like Murphy to step up alongside Ron Hainsey and below Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera in the defensive top four.

The door is open.

So far, the mystery status of Alexander Semin's wrist remains hazy.

On May 28, Francis announced Semin had undergone surgery on his wrist, which was not fully healthy during much of 2013-14 and limited him to just 22 goals.

On August 9, Yahoo's Dmitry Chesnokov reported that Semin had "not yet fully recovered" and would return to the U.S. for further rehab.

On August 20, Francis denied such claims, stating that Semin's wrist was fine and he was returning from Russia to train.

The Hurricanes desperately need their versatile sniper to be at 100 percent in the coming season, as No. 28 faces a pivotal year in his oft- (and often unjustly) controversial career and the 'Canes offense looks to live up to its cost.

The truth about Semin's health should be revealed by his performance and involvement in the weeks ahead.

A surprisingly talented and enticing crop of free agents remains on the open market, all seeking last-minute tryout opportunities with less than a month left until the start of the regular season.

The list of available forwards includes bruiser Dustin Penner (35 points in 2013-14), former 'Canes fan favorite Ray Whitney (32 points) and veteran depth players Todd Bertuzzi, Michal Handzus and Jeff Halpern. On the defensive side, former Coyotes second-pairing rearguard Derek Morris is also unsigned.

Carolina's hesitancy to add new players this offseason has been thoroughly puzzling, and the 'Canes have seemingly shown no interest in bringing any try-out players to camp, either.

It's worth noting, though, that three veterans who all filled regular roles in 2013-14—Ron Hainsey, Radek Dvorak and Manny Malhotra—didn't sign until Sept. 12, Oct. 2 and Oct. 31, respectively, last autumn.

Although probably unlikely in reality, it's hard to comprehend any arguments against considering one of the final remaining UFAs for a closer look.

Free-agency information courtesy of CapGeek.