Carolina Hurricanes

Since Jordan Staal returned to the Carolina Hurricanes' lineup on Dec. 29, only five other NHL teams have won more games than the surging 'Canes.

After missing the season's first 35 games with a broken fibula, Staal returned a month ahead of schedule and has registered eight points in his first 11 appearances.

He's jump-started brother Eric Staal's impressive scoring streak and helped Carolina erupt on a surprising 7-4-1 streak, including five wins in its last six games at home.

Now a month later, he's poised for a productive second half that could generate some much-needed optimism for 2015-16.

The portfolio of strong statistics that No. 11 has already quickly compiled is striking.

Jordan has a goal and a whopping seven assists in his 11 games to date, averaging over 17 minutes and 30 seconds per game (including 2:05 on the power play) and winning 52.9 percent of his faceoffs.

Even more impressive has been his physical presence, providing the big body planted in the crease that the 'Canes so desperately lacked for the campaign's first three months and establishing himself as a strong force in board battles as well.

The 6'4", 237-pound center's presence is having a clear impact on the Hurricanes' scoring:

Statistic	Without	With
Record	10-22-4	7-3-1
Goals per Game	1.94	2.64
Shots per Game	28.53	32.55

Although he has just 18 shots on goal so far, the younger Staal's 19.1-foot average distance on those shots is currently the shortest on the team by far, per Sporting Charts. Meanwhile, brother Eric's average shot-on-goal distance has dropped from 26.8 feet prior to Jan. 6 to just 25.3 feet since.

The difference is having an astonishing effect on Eric's efficiency.

After scoring merely once in the 16 games directly prior to Jordan's return, No. 12 has found the back of the net nine times in 11 games since. The uptick in his shooting percentage, likely due somewhat to regression and luck but largely to better opportunities, is more than a little noticeable:

With Jordan on the ice, the 'Canes' entire offensive unit is better able to penetrate toward the goal, create scoring chances and—most importantly—produce and reach rebound opportunities.

"You can put him in every situation imaginable," said 'Canes coach Bill Peters about Jordan Staal to the News & Observer's Chip Alexander earlier this month. "He’s a very intelligent hockey player and a very competitive hockey player."

Staal's versatility has allowed Peters to employ him as the team's first-line center essentially since Dec. 29, creating a deadly duo alongside Eric Staal that has crushed many an opponent in the month since.

Friday, he and the rest of the 'Canes will rematch the St. Louis Blues, who dominated Carolina for the majority of a 5-4 shootout win earlier this month and burned Jordan Staal for a minus-three rating on the night.

The game is one of few flaws in Carolina's past month of work and easily Jordan's worst game of the season. The Hurricanes, riding their most home momentum in some time, will be out for revenge.

And a large portion of the responsibility for revenge will ride on the brotherly duo that has carried the team to a sterling 7-2-1 mark so far this month.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

As the Carolina Hurricanes take the ice at PNC Arena prior to Tuesday's game, the rink will be noticeably lacking in the shade of red that has served as the franchise's primary color since its relocation in 1997.

The 'Canes will be outfitted, for the eighth time in 22 home games to date, in their black alternate jerseys as they face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

And based how the first seven have played out, the 'Canes may stand a slightly better chance at beating the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning than they would otherwise because of the apparel choice alone.

The 'Canes are 5-2-0 in their alternate jerseys this season and have won three consecutive games wearing them—a stark contrast to their 4-7-2 record in the standard red home jerseys (they're 1-0-0 when wearing white at home).

Since the black kits were introduced before the 2008-09 campaign, Carolina has been regularly more successful sporting the alternates:

Jersey Type	W	L	OTL	Win %	Point %
Black Alternates	46	30	6	56.1%	119.5%
Red/White Standard	80	69	19	47.6%	105.9%

The possibility that the correlation is entirely due to luck certainly exists.

The same could be said for the chance that the better record is due to a psychological boost from the special factor of wearing the third jerseys, perhaps providing an extra ounce of motivation.

Date	Opponent	Result
Nov. 1	Arizona	W 3-0
Nov. 7	Columbus	W 3-2
Nov. 13	Winnipeg	L 1-3
Dec. 7	Detroit	L 1-3
Dec. 18	Toronto	W 4-1
Jan. 4	Boston	W 2-1
Jan. 13	Colorado	W 3-2
Jan. 27	Tampa Bay
Feb. 17	NY Islanders
Feb. 27	Washington
Mar. 8	Edmonton
Mar. 14	Florida

But it's also possible that the uniform itself is somehow conducive to success, most likely resulting from the coincidence that its primary color is the same as the puck.

Through the eyes of any player, he is joined by five teammates and six opponents on the ice. Thus, in mathematical terms, 45 percent of the skaters he sees are teammates and 55 percent are opponents.

As a result, 55 percent of the fellow skaters seen by a hypothetical 'Canes player are wearing white—a color against which the puck will stand out better—while 55 percent of the fellow skaters seen by a hypothetical opponent player are wearing black—a background that doesn't provide the same contrast.

The difference between a white and black jersey may matter most with the goalies, where potential rebound or netmouth scramble opportunities could be lost if the black puck blends in with the black jersey. After all, Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin boast a combined .937 save percentage in black jerseys this year compared to a .909 mark in red or white.

The argument may seem far-fetched and overblown, but if a slight advantage to the alternate kits exists even in the slightest, the 'Canes could still be missing out on an additional point or two by keeping their red outfit as their standard home jersey.

Several reasons in favor of the shift exist beyond the disputable on-ice advantage, as well.

Certainly more fans in PNC Arena on any given night are wearing red than black. Flipping the table could entice some to buy a new black jersey to maintain solidarity with the 'Canes.

There's also the originality factor. Only four clubs (Anaheim, Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh) sport standard home jerseys featuring primarily black. Conversely, 10 clubs (Arizona, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, Ottawa and Washington) wear a varying shade of red.

The Hurricanes could very well lose to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, regardless of jersey (they have lost nine of their last 10 meetings with the Bolts dating back to 2012).

As the season slowly creeps toward its April conclusion, however, the 'Canes may be building the case for an offseason decision—a decision not on trading Ward or Alexander Semin, not on which free agents to re-sign and add, but rather on which color jersey to designate as the home standard in 2015-16.

It could have a bigger effect than any lone personnel change at any point in the summer.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

On Monday night, the Carolina Hurricanes came within five minutes and 11 seconds of the second-longest penalty-killing streak in the NHL since 1987.

A Toronto goal with six seconds left on a Tim Gleason holding penalty ended a streak of 29 days and 875:48 of ice time—13 full games—since the 'Canes had last allowed a power-play goal, killing 36 consecutive opponent opportunities over that time span. They fell just short of tying the 2012 St. Louis Blues for the second-longest streak since '87.

Carolina still killed three of four Maple Leafs power plays in Monday's 4-1 win to remain fourth in the league with an 87.0 percent kill rate.

It's a special teams proficiency not seen in Raleigh for years and a satisfying bright spot in Bill Peters' debut season as head coach.

Peters preached the dire need for special teams improvement after his introduction last summer, and his promises were not without reason: The Hurricanes' power play hadn't ranked higher than 18th in the NHL since 2007-08, and the penalty kill hadn't ranked higher than 17th since 2006-07.

Along with current assistants Rod Brind'Amour and Steve Smith, who have both been given much credit for the team's special teams advances in 2014-15, Peters and Co. have made tremendous strides in changing that trend.

Team	Diff.
1. Detroit	+17
2. Chicago	+12
3. Pittsburgh	+11
3. Vancouver	+11
5. St. Louis	+10
6. Carolina	+8
30. Buffalo	-32

The power play admittedly ranks 22nd in the NHL despite showing some flashes of productivity, but the sum of Carolina's man-advantage and man-disadvantage efficiency rates (103.6 percent) is still the NHL's seventh best.

Advanced stats confirm the accuracy and legitimacy of the team's rankings in both power-play and penalty-kill efficiency: The 'Canes have allowed the fifth-fewest Corsi (shot attempts) against on the penalty kill and produced the 22nd-most Corsi on the power play, per Hockey Analysis data.

Peters came to Carolina after three years as a Detroit Red Wings assistant working primarily with defense and penalty kill. He's since smoothly transferred the experience he gained from that role into his head coaching job.

After his hiring, first-year general manager Ron Francis signed defensive center Jay McClement away from the aforementioned Maple Leafs. McClement now leads the 'Canes in average short-handed ice time (2:32 per game) and faceoffs (55.4 winning percentage) and has proven a vital ingredient in the team's penalty-killing excellence of late.

Despite McClement's fantastic numbers, Peters has done a great job involving a number of players on the penalty-killing effort. Eleven skaters are averaging over a minute of short-handed ice time per game, including even 5'5" Nathan Gerbe, who has emerged as an unexpectedly solid killer due to his tenacity alone.

Discipline is also helping the effort. Only the Colorado Avalanche have taken fewer minor penalties than the Hurricanes' 137 this season, a habit of law-abiding play that has prevented opponents from building up power-play momentum or tiring out Carolina's usual killers.

With the 'Canes on pace for their best net special teams goal differential since the 2005-06 season—a season that produced a bit of hardware by its conclusion—the refreshing new approach of Peters and the rest of the coaching staff deserves wholehearted credit for its success so far.

The playoffs certainly remain a mere pipe dream, regardless of the good mood created by the team's 6-2-1 start to 2015; the Hurricanes currently boast a less-than-promising 0.1 percent playoff chance, according to Sports Club Stats.

Nevertheless, the highly substantial progress made on Carolina's perennially woeful special teams units should, moving forward, remove a burden that has cost plenty of wins over the past decade.

 

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

Ryan Murphy saw Jordan Staal taking off on a counterattack, jumped into the two-on-two break and played playmaker on a beautiful give-and-go play to give Staal his first goal of the season and Murphy his first career three-game point streak.

The slick play gave the Carolina Hurricanes an early 1-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, a game they went on to win 3-2 in the shootout to improve to 4-1-1 in 2015.

For Murphy, the past week's prolific production has been a long time coming.

After being drafted 12th overall in the 2011 NHL draft, Murphy tallied 102 points in 103 games for the OHL's Kitchener Rangers in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Then he turned pro. Then his scoring slowed down.

Murphy recorded five points in the 'Canes' first eight games of the 2013-14 season, but was held to just seven in his next 40 appearances. The season that was supposed to be his NHL breakout year eventually ended in the AHL.

Season	GP	Goals	Assists
2013-14	22	3	19
2014-15	23	0	17

But it's been Murphy's time with Charlotte in the AHL, both last spring and this past fall, that has reinvigorated his offensive potency. The 21-year-old was leading the Checkers with 17 assists when recalled by the Hurricanes on Dec. 30.

In the seven games since, Murphy's maturation and improvement have been evident on a game-by-game basis—like watching a time-lapse video of grass growing.

The puck-moving defenseman has had a positive raw Corsi (shot attempt differential) in five consecutive games, including a whopping plus-15 on Tuesday against the Avs, per war-on-ice.com.

He's played more than 18 minutes in five consecutive games as well, recording four assists in the past three contests.

Murphy has been active on the power play, playing two minutes and 57 seconds during the 'Canes' six combined power plays against Buffalo and St. Louis. He assisted on Eric Staal's goal vs. Buffalo that occurred just seconds after one of those power plays expired.

Game	Assists	Rating	Time on Ice
Jan. 8 vs. BUF	1	+1	18:38
Jan. 10 @ STL	1	-1	18:01
Jan. 13 vs. COL	2	+2	20:00

Most importantly, he's looked far more assertive and confident on the ice. He's been more responsible with his pinches, removed most of the recklessness from his aggressive style and proven more patient in his own zone.

The end-to-end rush attempts and silly defensive jumps that made him such a liability earlier in his career haven't been nearly as troublesome in the past two weeks.

Murphy has even shown an ability to mentally overcome the mistakes that will inevitably occur to a 21-year-old defenseman.

After finding himself in no man's land on Vladimir Tarasenko's third-period, game-tying goal last weekend—although sticky-footed Tim Gleason was the main man at fault on the odd-looking play—Murphy recovered during the remainder of the game.

He kept his final four shifts of regulation very short and responsible (33.5 seconds per shift), and was then rewarded by Bill Peters with 2:30 of ice time during the five-minute overtime period.

With John-Michael Liles returning from injury on Tuesday and Brett Bellemore sitting out as a healthy scratch, Murphy's NHL role is still far from secure.

He'll likely hope to remain in the NHL at least until next Monday's visit to Toronto—Murphy is a native of Aurora, Ontario (a Toronto suburb) and scored his first career NHL goal in his one prior appearance in the Air Canada Centre.

Considering how Carolina's slightly late-blooming defenseman has played lately, however, he could remain with the 'Canes far longer than one more week.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of NHL.com.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

Cam Ward could be the perfect solution to the Minnesota Wild's goaltending dilemma, Andrej Sekera might fetch a large return on the trade market and Jiri Tlusty could be shopped as a rental scorer.

Even with the Carolina Hurricanes off to a 3-1-1 start to 2015, general manager Ron Francis has plenty of opportunities to jump-start the franchise's rebuilding effort on his notepad.

And unlike his hesitant predecessor, Jim Rutherford, Francis plans to value effectiveness above sentimentality when it comes time to check items off that agenda:

Francis says personnel decisions may be made at upcoming management meetings. Cites need to take "emotion and frustration" out of decisions.

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) January 9, 2015

As the countdown to the March 2 trade deadline approaches, the 'Canes appear poised to be one of the NHL's most active teams off the ice.

Where could some of the Hurricanes' most sought-after players be headed? How likely is each rumor to be fulfilled? An analysis of the rumors circling around each major trade target lies below.

Cam Ward

Rumors

The struggling Minnesota Wild have reportedly contacted Francis about Ward's availability and price, according to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Ward is an intriguing name and undoubtedly could be had. His salary cap hit this season and next is $6.3 million, so he would be a hefty investment, but the speculation is the Hurricanes, who have ownership issues, might be willing to dump his contract for limited assets.

The Wild has inquired, sources say.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman added that no sources have denied the Ward-to-Wild rumors to him during a radio interview on Calgary's Sportsnet 960 that was transcribed by Chris Nichols.

Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer asked Francis about the rumor and didn't exactly receive a denial, either:

Asked Francis about Ward-to-Wild rumors. Didn't address specifically but says there are some teams are looking for goalies.

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) January 10, 2015

Analysis

The Wild have lost 11 of their last 13 games and rank 29th in the league in team save percentage, with Darcy Kuemper and aging Niklas Backstrom currently struggling to keep the ship afloat. Six of their next eight games are on the road, as well, so the situation could deteriorate even further in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Ward is coming off his best two-month stretch in half a decade, recording a .927 save percentage and 2.06 GAA between Nov. 1 and Jan. 6. I wrote last week, however, that a regression back to the mean (Ward has a career save percentage of just .910) is highly likely, and indeed, Ward has allowed nine goals in his last seven periods for an .855 save percentage.

If Francis plans to trade Ward before the end of the season, the time to do it is right now—before Ward's inevitable slump gets fully underway and before Minnesota slides out of sight of the Western Conference playoff race.

Fortunately, No. 30's trade value is at a high after spending years in the cellar. Carolina could retain perhaps a third of Ward's hefty salary and earn a decently high draft pick in exchange.

Jiri Tlusty

Rumors

Tlusty signed a one-year contract last summer as a "bridge deal" from restricted to unrestricted free agency. He was eligible to be extended on Jan. 1, but it's far from a sure thing that an extension will happen.

TheFourthPeriod.com reported back on New Year's Day that negotiations had begun but that, should an extension not be agreed upon by March, the team "is expected to trade him."

Francis admitted to Chip Alexander on Friday that talks with Tlusty had been "put on [the] backburner."

If Tlusty, who has 11 goals in 35 games this season and had 23 in 48 games in 2012, is dealt, two Canadian clubs could be the most likely destinations.

Said Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch on Sunday about his pursuit of a new top-six forward:

What I've talked to several teams about is a forward...a guy is maybe a little more experienced, a known point-getter or at least has a chance to get points. There's a couple of guys I wouldn't mind doing something with but that's not going to be easy to do.

Meanwhile, TSN's Darren Dreger noted on the radio last week that the Winnipeg Jets would "like to add a top-nine forward" (also per Nichols).

Analysis

The fact that Tlusty opted for one year instead of a long-term deal last summer foreshadows that he could be looking forward to exploring the open UFA market come July, and the 26-year-old Czech is just the kind of opportunistic forward who could put up huge numbers alongside a top playmaker on a Cup contender (a la Jussi Jokinen on the Penguins).

The 'Canes could be wise to sell their stock now, for they could get a much heftier return for Tlusty than they could for the average player with 17 points at the season's halfway point.

Tlusty has 13.8 career shooting percentage, which is about the highest imaginable for a player nearing 400 career appearances. Conversely, Winnipeg ranks 28th in five-on-five team shooting percentage this season. Francis also completed the first in-season trade of his GM career last month when he worked with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to send Jay Harrison to Manitoba.

Add in the fact that Winnipeg is a Western Conference team, and it seems a better home for Tlusty could be found nowhere else.

Andrej Sekera

Rumors

Of the Hurricanes' two key pending free agents—Tlusty and Sekera—the latter is the clear consensus as the one more likely to be traded before the 2014-15 campaign concludes.

On Tlusty: Hurricanes want to re-sign him, and will try hard to do so. Defenseman Andrej Sekera, though, more likely to be moved by deadline

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) January 5, 2015

An undisclosed source also told TheFourthPeriod.com that the odds of Sekera being dealt "are pretty high, at this point."

The New York Rangers are reportedly highly interested. Said Elliotte Friedman on the radio, per Nichols:

I know...they’re one of the teams that really likes Sekera from Carolina. I think they’ve kind of circled around him. Whenever the Hurricanes make their decision on what they’re going to do there, I think they’re one of the teams that’s interested.

Additionally, the Boston Bruins, uncharacteristically right on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble, are seeking an offensive defenseman. Writes Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe (subscription required), "The Bruins need at least one more defenseman who can move the puck with poise."

Both The Globe and TheFourthPeriod.com speculate that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has contacted hand-tied Arizona GM Don Maloney about long sought-after defenseman Keith Yandle, but Yandle will cost the Bruins a near fortune to acquire.

Analysis

Although Sekera has only one goal and 13 assists so far this year, his ridiculously unlucky 1.9 shooting percentage is bound to improve back toward his 5.1 career average soon.

When that time comes, Francis may be quite well-served to shop Sekera around, inflate his value as the deadline approaches and cash in.

Over the past two seasons, Sekera has tallied 58 points to Yandle's 79, but he also boasts a relatively strong minus-six rating compared to Yandle's minus-38 atrocity. Sekera also carries an affordable $2.75 million cap hit, per Rotoworld.com, that expires this summer, while Yandle has another season left at $5.25 million. I could easily see Sekera being even more sought after than his Arizona counterpart.

Francis would obviously like to send Sekera at least outside of the Metropolitan Division, but the winning suitor could eventually be determined by a traditional bidding war.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Five times in the last five NHL drafts, the Carolina Hurricanes have drafted a goaltender in hopes of finding a long-term replacement for Cam Ward.

They appeared to have finally found one in 2013-14 when free-agent addition Anton Khudobin put together one of the better season-long performances in recent franchise history.

But the 2014-15 season, from the NHL to the AHL to the ECHL to the OHL, has tossed the Hurricanes' long-turbulent netminding situation back into the blender.

The first two months of the season saw Khudobin lose his first 10 appearances and slide back firmly into the No. 2 role. Ward, meanwhile, overcame a shaky start to launch into arguably the best stretch of his career since the 2008-09 season.

In 23 appearances since the start of November, Ward has posted a .927 save percentage and 2.06 GAA. 

However, there still exists plenty of reason to believe that Ward, who turns 31 next month, can't keep this up.

His career regular-season save percentage is just .910—sixth-worst among 29 active goaltenders with 200 or more career appearances—and, prior to this season, had declined for four straight seasons. Ward allowed three goals in the third period of Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators after holding the Preds to just one goal in five periods previously; it could be a sign that No. 30's luck is about to change somewhat.

Ward's spectacular November and December were so out of pattern, and even out of character for his career as a whole, that it seems highly likely that a regression to the mean is due, and soon.

After all, the same thing happened to Khudobin over the 2014 summer.

After turning eyes from all around with a .926 save percentage and 19-14-1 record in his debut 2013-14 campaign in Raleigh, Khudobin suddenly devolved into a total mess for the first several months of 2014-15, starting 0-7-2 with a horrendous .892 save percentage.

Yet the 28-year-old Kazakh may be turning things around at last. He's allowed just one goal against in three consecutive starts, good for a .957 mark and two shootout wins.

The team's cast of goalie prospects, despite plenty of attention and attempted fixes over the years, does continue to lack a clear, guaranteed future star.

The team's only certainly successful goaltender draft pick of the past decade is currently leading the Anaheim Ducks to the best record in the West. Frederik Andersen, 2010 'Canes seventh-rounder, ditched the 'Canes in 2012 and is now 22-6-5 this season in Anaheim.

Sixth-round fliers Matt Mahalak (2011) and Collin Olsen (2012) never went anywhere, and once-promising OHL stars Daniel Altshuller (2012 third round) and Alex Nedeljkovic (2014 second round) are both in the midst of terrible 2014-15 seasons.

Neither of the AHL Charlotte Checkers' goaltenders, career minor leaguers Drew MacIntyre and John Muse, offer any NHL potential moving forward.

Player	Age	Level	Record	Save %	GAA
Cam Ward	31	NHL	10-15-2	.915	2.37
Anton Khudobin	28	NHL	2-8-2	.906	2.55
Drew MacIntyre	31	AHL	10-11-2	.917	2.56
John Muse	26	AHL	2-7-2	.908	2.83
Daniel Altshuller	20	ECHL	6-1-0	.886	3.19
Alex Nedeljkovic	18	OHL	9-14-3	.905	3.43

So with the trade deadline beginning to approach and the Hurricanes still last in the Eastern Conference, general manager Ron Francis is left with a difficult question.

Should he keep an aging but resurrected Ward and his $6.3 million cap hit around?

Or should he sell high on Ward and put his confidence in a barely recovered Khudobin and a hit-or-miss collection of kids?

A decision on Carolina's netminding future is one of several key choices with major long-term influence to be made in the coming months.

For now, however, the unit's future leader remains perhaps more cloudy than ever.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

The Carolina Hurricanes' 2014-15 season is no longer about the Carolina Hurricanes' 2014-15 season.

It's about the future.

It's about getting the most trade value out of Cam Ward—before the longevity of his sudden career resurrection is determined—and impending unrestricted free agents Jiri Tlusty and Andrej Sekera.

It's about seeing what Victor Rask can do as a top-six center, about finally determining whether Zach Boychuk or Chris Terry has more NHL potential, about easing Justin Faulk into Sekera's soon-to-be-vacant role and Brett Bellemore into Tim Gleason's role and Michal Jordan into Ron Hainsey's role.

It's about the beginning of the real Ron Francis era of the Hurricanes franchise, once patience and sacrifice clean up former general manager Jim Rutherford's mess and his massive ensemble of cheap, old journeymen.

In a season in which the Carolina Hurricanes rest last in the Eastern Conference with 10 wins in 37 games, 29 players have already suited up in the red and white for at least one night.

That number will only rise in the months ahead.

Players like Rask and Terry have already benefited from the additional NHL experience they've received. They've each tallied nine points in 28 and 37 games, respectively, and rank highly with 53.0 and 52.6 Corsi percentages.

Best of all, they've both seemingly found their niche in the offense and begun to emulate two vital role players—Brandon Sutter and Jussi Jokinen—from the Hurricanes' most recent successful team in 2009.

Lower on the depth chart, a consistent cycle of upper-tier AHL producers has developed.

Player	Appearances	Points
Victor Rask	37	9
Chris Terry	28	9
Andrej Nestrasil	8	3
Patrick Brown	7	0
Brody Sutter	4	0
Justin Shugg	3	0
Brendan Woods	2	0

Patrick Brown made seven appearances early in the season but has just two points in 16 AHL games since. Brody Sutter then played in four games. Justin Shugg was up next, appearing in three contests. Then it was Brendan Woods' turn to be called up for a pair.

But the problem with the cycle is such: In 16 combined games between the four forwards, a total of zero points on the box score were produced.

None, with perhaps the slight exception of Brown, were given enough time to establish a regular routine at the NHL level nor enough time on ice per game—the foursome has averaged seven minutes and 34 seconds per game—to develop chemistry with linemates.

As the 2014-15 campaign squanders away further in time, it's likely that head coach Bill Peters will be more willing to slot his young prospects not with the likes of Brad Malone but rather with Jordan or Eric Staal, to perhaps sacrifice a bit of line stability and earn-your-way-up rigidity for the sake of the future.

After all, what does he have to lose? The 'Canes have scored one or zero actual goals in 11 of their past 13 games. Why not play Brown, Sutter, Shugg or Woods for 19 minutes and see what happens?

Player	Position	Age	Appearances	Points
Ryan Murphy	D	21	23	17
Chad LaRose	RW	32	31	17
Brendan Woods	LW	22	30	15
Greg Nemisz**	RW	24	21	14
Justin Shugg	RW	22	21	13
Brock McGinn	LW	20	31	13
Phil Di Giuseppe	LW	20	32	13
Jared Staal	RW	24	25	8
Trevor Carrick	D	23	32	8
Rasmus Rissanen	D	20	32	8

At some point, recent second-round draft picks Brock McGinn and Phil Di Giuseppe will also have to get their opportunities.

Neither has exactly lit up the AHL—they each have 13 points in 31 and 32 games, respectively—but they are arguably the two most promising forward prospects in Carolina's system. When they're playing with a Staal brother instead of Carter Sandlak, the possibilities are decidedly more exciting.

Defensively, Francis and Co. must first clean out some of the current glut of barely-third-pairing-caliber rearguards before the youth invasion can begin.

Sekera is bound to draw a hefty return on the trade market. With all of the 'Canes players likely to be dealt, Francis will certainly enjoy negotiations surrounding this player the most.

Hainsey could garner something as well, but Gleason won't. Priority No. 1 should be retaining as little salary as possible when dealing those latter two veterans.

Only then can Faulk and a slew of kids have full rein on a Hurricanes defense that would undoubtedly be chaotic at first. No. 27 has sacrificed some defensive responsibility to become perhaps Carolina's most potent scorer on the ice, and despite their potential, Ryan Murphy and Michal Jordan will definitely struggle at first with 18-minute workloads.

Yet that's the brilliance of the rebuild.

While a makeshift back end scrambles to—unsuccessfully—hold the ship upright as the Hurricanes' 2-1 losses become 4-1 and 5-1 losses, the 'Canes sink closer to a top-two draft pick and slowly, messily, frustratingly, their youth learns how to survive and eventually thrive in the NHL.

Murphy—whose status as a former No. 12 overall selection seems to have been almost forgotten—needs far more NHL time than he's received in the past two seasons.

AHL blueliners Trevor Carrick and Rasmus Rissanen deserve a taste of 'Canes hockey, too. Carrick in particular could emerge as a dark horse for Carolina's 2015-16 opening-day lineup.

As the 'Canes embark on a stretch from Jan. 4 to Jan. 30 in which they play 10 consecutive games against non-Metropolitan Division opponents, they'll get an opportunity to test variety against variety—a variety of players against a variety of less familiar opponents.

Even as the team presumably continues to occupy the East's basement, this month could be an interesting one of 'Canes news on and off the ice.

The calendar reads January 2015. For the Hurricanes, however, all that happens in this month will be relevant only to years ahead.

Contract information courtesy of CapGeek.com. Advanced statistics courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

When Jordan Staal makes his season debut for the Carolina Hurricanes—whether that's on Monday or in another game in the next few weeks—his much-awaited return will spell good news for a maligned Canes offense and catastrophe for one unknown teammate.

Staal's presence will bump one of the Hurricanes' depth forwards out of the lineup and likely onto waivers or the American Hockey League. When Andrej Nestrasil comes off of injured reserve and if Alexander Semin ever re-establishes a permanent job, a second or third one could bite the dust.

Will it be Brad Malone, who has looked better in recent games but remains incredibly pointless on the year? Will it be Zach Boychuk, who has had plenty of experience with waivers in the past? Will it be Chris Terry, who surely can't maintain his 21.4 shooting percentage and doesn't exactly bring bottom-six size?

Until a week ago, Terry may well have been the most likely on that list to be dumped.

The 25-year-old winger had not registered a point in 11 straight and 16 of his last 17 games; he was also on the ice for four goals against in Carolina's visits to Philadelphia and Montreal.

But things have changed quickly for Terry.

No. 25 found the back of the net in consecutive games as the Canes picked up three of four possible points against the Maple Leafs and Rangers.

Two games later, Terry then upped his career NHL shootout history to 4-of-6 with a skills-competition winner against the Devils.

The string of matches showed Canes head coach Bill Peters and general manager Ron Francis precisely the foundation of Terry's game that has made him so successful in the AHL over the years.

In the style of Jiri Tlusty, who has made his career on goals from two feet out, Terry possesses the opportunistic instincts dearly lacking on this scoring-starved team. 

His ridiculously high shooting percentage is more of a reflection of his style and skill than his luck; he's scored at a rate higher than 12 percent in three of his last four campaigns with AHL Charlotte, too.

Terry's two tallies this month—a tap-in goal off an Eric Staal shot rebound and a one-time snap shot off a two-on-feed from Nathan Gerbe—never would've happened had he not gone to the net (not easily done by a 5'10", 195-pound winger either) and kept his stick on the ice awaiting the opportunity.

The rest of the team could learn much from his habits: A lack of net-front traffic and rebound goals has been among the biggest factors behind Carolina's league-worst team shooting percentage.

Moreover, Terry's Corsi (shot attempts for versus against) percentage of 53.9 percent ranks sixth on the team and higher than those of Staal, Tlusty, Jeff Skinner and others, per HockeyAnalysis.com.

Player	Record	Conversion Rate
Chris Terry	4 of 6	66.7%
Alexander Semin	15 of 49	30.6%
Nathan Gerbe	4 of 14	28.6%
Jeff Skinner	6 of 23	26.1%
Eric Staal	4 of 19	21.1%

It's in shootouts, however, where Terry makes arguably his biggest contribution.

Although his NHL sample size is small and frankly unsustainable, he's still displayed far more shootout potency than any other player on the Canes. Terry knows how to handle the puck adeptly in the breakaway-like situation without sacrificing the finish, overdoing the dekes or out-thinking himself.

Add in a stellar 16-of-35 record in AHL shootouts over the last four years, and Terry's shootout value alone is proven worth several points in the standings. On a last-place team currently boasting just 24 of such points, that's pretty significant.

As Jordan Staal makes his long-anticipated and much-needed return to the lineup in the coming days, optimism around the Hurricanes' struggling offense should skyrocket.

Beneath the excitement, though, a depth-chart shakeup will also be in order.

Centers Riley Nash, Victor Rask and Jay McClement will all be due for a realignment, but all three should remain safely at the NHL level. One of several wingers, however, could be in greater danger.

Chris Terry has presented a convincing case why he should join Nash, Rask and McClement among those staying at the NHL level.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

As the horn sounded to end the 65 minutes of real hockey at PNC Arena on Saturday night, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward was likely flooded with dread about the shootout ahead.

Ward, whose sharp 33 saves on 35 shots during the game itself had kept the 'Canes even with the Rangers through the end of overtime, had lost eight of his last nine shootouts.

He sported the 34th-best shootout save percentage out of 42 NHL goaltenders with 50 or more career attempts faced. He was a proven liability in the skills competition.

And sure enough, specialist Mats Zuccarello skated right in and scored on a quick shot over Ward's blocker side. A save on Derek Stepan proved insignificant, as all three Carolina shooters were denied by Henrik Lundqvist (ranked second out of those 42 goalies) and Zuccarello's tally went down as the winner.

The Rangers had won the game, and Ward had now lost nine of his last 10 shootouts.

But Ward—even after 65 minutes of stellar play, even after that end-of-overtime horn sounded—didn't actually defend (or attempt to defend) the net in the shootout after all.

Anton Khudobin could have done it instead.

Indeed, goalie switches are allowed even after every second of actual hockey in a game has been played.

Then-Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson did it in October 2008, replacing starter Vesa Toskala (who had a woeful 46 percent shootout save percentage) for cold backup Curtis Joseph (boasting a far superior 72 percent rate) in a shootout against the Anaheim Ducks.

Nonetheless, the Leafs still lost that night, and no NHL coach has attempted it since.

In soccer, however, it's a different story.

Twice in the 2013 NCAA women's soccer tournament, Duke coach Robbie Church put in his backup netminder for only the penalty shootout. Duke won the shootout both times.

In the 2014 World Cup, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal famously used his final substitution to bring on backup goaltender Tim Krul for starter Jasper Cillessen in the 121st minute—one minute before the penalty shootout—of the Netherlands' quarterfinal match against Costa Rica.

Krul, who had studied Costa Rica's shootout win in the previous round, dove the right way on all five shots and saved two to help the Netherlands advance to the semifinals.

In similar fashion, 'Canes backup Khudobin had actually faced the Rangers in a shootout already this year.

He conceded one goal on three attempts, and Carolina lost that game, too. But he surely had that experience in mind while sitting idly for three hours on the bench this past Saturday.

In limited action, Khudobin has also appeared simply a better shootout goaltender than Ward, having saved seven of nine career attempts faced and gone 1-2. The contrast between he and No. 30 is stark:

Category	Cam Ward	Anton Khudobin
Home Record	7-16	0-1
Home Save %	.671	.667
Road Record	4-11	1-1
Road Save %	.533	.833
Overall Record	11-27	1-2
Overall Save %	.624	.778

Moving forward, Carolina boss Bill Peters might want to consider taking a page out of the books of Wilson, Church and van Gaal.

Plenty more shootouts lie ahead for the Hurricanes—who are 0-3 in such events this year and an all-time 26-39, the fewest wins of all 30 franchises. Few goalies exist who have proven more shootout ineptitude than Ward, and Khudobin has shown some promise.

The radical, yet possibly brilliant, switch seems at least worth a try.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.