Carolina Hurricanes

The 82-game path the Carolina Hurricanes must conquer to end their five-year playoff drought in the 2014-15 season is official.

The NHL released the entire schedule Sunday afternoon for the upcoming season, which begins October 8. The Hurricanes' full schedule can be seen courtesy of NHL.com.

The 'Canes begin their campaign with a home-and-home series against the New York Islanders. Their season begins on Friday, Oct. 10, with the home opener at PNC Arena. The team will then travel north for their Saturday rematch, the last home opener the Isles will play on Long Island.

The annual State Fair road trip takes the team away from home for five games in late October, including visits to all four Canadian teams in the Western Conference. 

However, another trip from Nov. 18 to 28 also takes Carolina on the road for five consecutive games. The club will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Nov. 20, one week before Thanksgiving.

The Hurricanes immediately return for a five-game homestand, including the now-Jim Rutherford-led Pittsburgh Penguins' first visit to Raleigh on Nov. 29.

The Pens will then host the 'Canes in Pennsylvania on New Year's Eve, as Carolina tries to duplicate its New Year's Eve miracle of 2013 (a three-goal comeback win over Montreal).

Carolina will play six of seven games between Jan. 31 and Feb. 16 on the road, including two matches against the Anaheim Ducks as well as Western opponents Phoenix, San Jose and Minnesota.

As spring approaches, Raleigh will become an increasingly regular home for the team.

Fifteen of the 20 scheduled games between Feb. 17 and Mar. 29 will be held at PNC Arena, including two different five-game homestands. If the 'Canes can indeed improve their home record in 2014-15, as noted by new head coach Bill Peters last week, it will certainly yield dividends down the stretch.

For the second consecutive year, Carolina will finish their regular-season slate against the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, this time visiting Philly on Apr. 9 before hosting the Wings for the Apr. 11 home finale.

Carolina plays the Flyers and New York Rangers five times each in 2014-15, compared to the four meetings they'll have with their five other Metropolitan Division foes. They'll face each of the eight Atlantic Division teams three times and each of the 14 Western Conference clubs twice.

The 'Canes will play 11 matinee games before 7 p.m. ET, hosting six—four at 5 p.m., two at 1 p.m.

Back-to-backs remain an integral part of the team's schedule, playing 32 of their 82 total contests either the day before or the day after another game. 13 of the 16 back-to-backs involve travel.

The local Fox Sports Carolinas and national NBC and NBC Sports Network television schedules will be released in the coming days.

The Canadian TV slate was unveiled along with the league schedule. The 'Canes will play three times on national television in Canada: Nov. 29 vs. Pittsburgh, Jan. 17 at Ottawa and Jan. 31 at New York (Rangers).

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.

The new generation overtaking the Carolina Hurricanes this summer now has its foreman.

Bill Peters, former Detroit Red Wings assistant, was named as the Hurricanes' next head coach on Thursday afternoon and will be officially introduced Friday.

Per Terrell Williams of the team website:

Ron Francis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that Bill Peters has been named the team’s head coach. Peters will be the 13th man to serve as head coach for the franchise, and the fourth since the team’s arrival in North Carolina.

Peters comes to the 'Canes as a 48-year-old man—young in the coaching universe—with no professional playing experience and no NHL head coaching experience.

Peters' final season with Spokane jump-started the ascension of his coaching career, as the Chiefs posted a stunning 50-15-7 regular-season record en route to winning the league championship.

Alumni from that Peters-led 2007-08 Spokane squad are now dotted all around the NHL: current 'Canes forward Drayson Bowman, who led the team in scoring; Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, who scored 50 points in 2013-14; defensemen Jared Spurgeon (Wild), Jared Cowen (Senators) and Justin Falk (Rangers); 2014 Eastern Conference Final goaltender Dustin Tokarski (Canadiens).

Peters' uncanny and incredible ability to prime his players for the pros continued the next three seasons with Rockford, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

He coached seven players during that time, as noted by Williams, who went on to play significant roles in the Hawks' 2010 or 2013 Stanley Cup titles: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Antti Niemi, Corey Crawford, Bryan Bickell, Nick Leddy, Brandon Bollig and Ben Smith.

Despite the parent Blackhawks' continuous call-ups of star players, Peters guided one of the AHL's youngest squads to at least 38 wins all three seasons and to the playoffs on two occasions.

Said Stan Bowman, Chicago general manager, upon Peters' departure in 2011:

Bill has been a great teacher and a valuable resource in the development of our many prospects in Rockford the last three seasons. I want to thank him for his dedication to the growth of the Blackhawks organization.

In Detroit, Peters "worked mainly with the defense and penalty kill," according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Accordingly, the Red Wings found perennial success in both regards, qualifying for the postseason every spring.

Peters' defensive coaching is perhaps most impressive when viewed through the lens of advanced stats.

Per ExtraSkater.com data, Detroit ranked among the top four teams in the NHL at limiting opponent shot attempts (Corsi) in all three seasons.

Peters is no doubt unseasoned.

But the Alberta native's enthusiasm and optimism have also not yet been worn down by years of surviving the NHL grind, as happened so quickly to former boss Kirk Muller.

Likely gone are the nights of somber, cliche-ridden press conferences that so plagued Muller's dismaying final campaign, and likely gone with them is the lack of conviction and determination so evident within the Hurricanes' player and coaching corps in 2013.

Peters will bring a perspective still sharp at the edges, still fueled by ambition and still conditioned by the winning legacy of the Red Wings and their 23-year playoff streak.

Peters will bring a newfound focus on defense, where nonexistent depth and poor shift management cursed the 'Canes to 19th in the league last season.

Peters will bring a youthful freshness still underlined by his reputation as a "teacher"—as noted by the News & Observer—to a club longing for change.

And he'll fit in seamlessly with the revolution of fresh faces repopulating and re-energizing the Hurricanes after seven years of tension, frustration and failure.

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.

The 2014 NHL draft will mark the start of a new era for the Carolina Hurricanes franchise.

The weight of a five-year playoff drought sags more heavily than ever as new general manager Ron Francis approaches his first big opportunity to change the direction of the team.

Francis and the 'Canes, thanks to the disappointment of the 2013-14 campaign, are blessed with the No. 7 overall selection and six more picks throughout the course of the draft. It's a full deck of valuable assets, but inanimate assets nonetheless—only with smart decision-making and savvy selecting can the maximum value of each of the seven picks be capitalized upon.

But the draft has historically proven to be challenging for Carolina.

A study I began on Twitter that was expanded upon greatly by the Section 328 blog revealed a number of concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Hurricanes' recent drafting.

Considering all draft picks from 2004 to 2013, 'Canes selections played in 3,016 combined NHL games, the ninth-smallest total in the league. Eleven of the top 12 teams in the rankings made the postseason in either 2013 or 2014; the 'Canes, meanwhile, haven't qualified since 2009.

Moreover, of Carolina's 71 picks between 2003 and 2012, only 24 have made a single NHL appearance (28th in the league) and a mere nine have hit the 100-game milestone (27th).

Perhaps most troubling has been the team's drafting past the first round, as the Hurricanes' second- through ninth-round selections from 2003 to 2012 have averaged just 19 NHL games per player. Only the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise has been less effective beyond the first round.

Why has the 'Canes drafting become so unproductive?

Each strong class, such as Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk in 2010, has been offset by a fruitless year—like No. 27 pick Philippe Paradis and the rest of the 2009 class.

Each first-round success, such as Brandon Sutter at No. 11 in 2007, has been followed by a disappointment of even greater proportions—like Zach Boychuk at No. 14 in 2008.

The few strokes of brilliance—Brett Bellemore in the 2007 sixth round, Niclas Wallin in the 2000 fourth round, even controversy-ridden Frederik Andersen in the 2010 seventh round—have been buried in an otherwise lifeless swamp of late-round strikeouts. 

Of the Hurricanes' 32 selections in the fourth round or later since 2004, not one has yet hit the milestone of 100 NHL appearances or 15 NHL points.

Too often, the 'Canes have naively made draft day decisions considering only the team's current situation.

When Jim Rutherford made the decision to trade the No. 8 pick in 2012 to Pittsburgh as part of the package deal for Jordan Staal, he surely envisioned a dominant, Sedin-like, immediately developing All-Star tandem between brothers Eric and Jordan.

But Rutherford seemingly let his omnipresent affection for connections and cronyism override the logic that perhaps the future was more important than that one point in time. Brandon Sutter was growing into an elite player in his role; Brian Dumoulin would continue to emerge as a steady if not flashy prospect; A-grade picks like Jacob Trouba, Filip Forsberg and Mikhail Grigorenko were still available at the pick position.

A year later, the Sutter-vacated third-line role stood out as the top concern entering the 2013 draft. And so Rutherford made the "safe" decision and took Swedish center Elias Lindholm, immediately slotting him into the position in his internal vision of the depth chart.

More talented players were available, players like Valeri Nichushkin and Sean Monahan who would go on to have far more productive rookie seasons. The 'Canes, however, chose to draft Lindholm just like they would choose to sign a veteran free agent: valuing him for the hole he would fill in the roster at this time.

Forward-looking vision, arguably the most important heuristic in the draft process, lacked woefully in the Hurricanes of old.

This spring, Francis will likely be able to select, if he so chooses, Kasperi Kapanen—son of former 'Canes player Sami Kapanen—at No. 7.

He'll likely also be able to select, if he so chooses, William Nylander—a flashy winger who could pair up dangerously on a wing opposite Alexander Semin.

If the mistakes of the past have taught the 'Canes anything, however, then both of those potential picks should be considered with only the most critical eye. Drafting based on the now and not the future has repeatedly proved futile in Raleigh.

Mistakes of drafts past (as well as a plethora of other blunders) have left the 'Canes in an increasingly troubling financial situation that may only be resolved by a playoff berth.

The relative urgency of the state of the franchise, however, must not influence the new Francis regime to act impulsively at the upcoming and crucial 2014 draft.

Historical draft information courtesy of HockeyDB.com.

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.

Nick Ritchie, a projected top-10 pick at the upcoming 2014 NHL entry draft, could be the first piece in the Carolina Hurricanes' physical revival.

After years of failing to succeed—or even qualify for the playoffs—with a finesse-focused lineup, the 'Canes and new general manger Ron Francis can use the upcoming offseason to add size, strength and physicality back into the Hurricanes' DNA.

The use of the seventh overall pick on 18-year-old forward Nick Ritchie would be a decisive first step.

Ritchie may be the most physically intimidating prospect in this year's draft. He's tall at 6'2", but far from lanky at 226 pounds.

He's a Tuomo Ruutu-esque, hit-everything-in-sight player, yet he's also willing to take that assertiveness to the crease, where he shows Jiri Tlusty-like opportunism.

Chris Edwards of NHL Central Scouting breaks down his game:

He's a big, physical, tough guy. When he's playing and using his size and strength he's tough to knock off the puck. He goes to the net hard and has that power-forward mentality that's tough for people to handle. He protects the puck and has an excellent shot off the rush.

Ritchie possesses an intriguing balance of tough body and soft hands that will make him almost a guaranteed top-10 selection come June 27.

Led by Ritchie in 2013-14, Peterborough went just 32-36, but ranked third in the OHL's Eastern Conference in offense. He led the Petes with 74 points, five more than second-placed Hunter Garlent—a 2013 Hurricanes development camp invitee.

It was a convincing bounce-back campaign for Ritchie, who has struggled somewhat with consistency in the past. The winger missed 27 games in 2012-13 with a shoulder injury, and The Scouting Report labeled him as a "mixed bag" with high game-to-game variability.

But there's also more to the Ontario native than scoring. Ritchie is a willing fighter and eager checker, happy to engage himself in scrappy situations.

Such an aggressive playing style does send him to the penalty box more often than the average prospect, but not excessively so. Ritchie's persistent physicality is mostly in pursuit of lit lamps rather than injured opponents.

Todd Cordell of TheHockeyGuys.net elaborates:

Ritchie is your prototypical power forward, and probably the best of his kind this year’s class has to offer. Ritchie is physical, in your face, and never backs down...

He protects the puck well, and embraces battles with opposing team’s top players. He’s strong on the forecheck, and can create chances from along the wall, and in the cycle game.

Among the OHL's top 10 in penalty minutes, Ritchie was the only player on that list to also tally more than 53 points.

In a February interview with Ben Kerr of Last Word on Sports, Ritchie noted that he models his game after NHL stars like Jamie Benn, Ryan Getzlaf and Milan Lucic. "Great players who use their body well," he said.

The likenesses between each of the three and Ritchie are indeed evident and have the latter set on a career path that could send him into the NHL as soon as next fall.

The 2014 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings boasted a roster with just four players listed under 6'1". The 2014 Hurricanes, meanwhile, carried nine players under the same height.

Gaining size and physicality will be a top priority in the coming month for Francis, who must soon make decisions on restricted free agents Nathan Gerbe (5'5"), Zach Boychuk (5'10"), Andrei Loktionov (5'11") and Jiri Tlusty (6'0"), among others.

First, however, comes the NHL draft, which will be carried out June 27 and 28 in Philadelphia. The club's seventh overall pick headlines its full portfolio of seven selections. The type of player chosen with it could possibly foreshadow the theme of the entire offseason.

Ritchie would signify a rather predictable but nonetheless much-needed theme: a return to a balance of grit- and finesse-based players.

The spring exodus that traded away Carolina's best checker, Tuomo Ruutu, and shot-blocker Tim Gleason yielded little success and eventually cost Jim Rutherford his job. It's up to Francis to rediscover that balance and arguably redefine the Hurricanes' identity after five years sans postseason.

The franchise's unheralded core of young stars—Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Ryan Murphy—is talented, but far from physically intimidating.

Up-and-coming youngsters like Brock McGinn, Brent Pedersen and Brett Pesce offer slightly more in that regard, but only McGinn possesses even remotely as much NHL upside as Ritchie does.

The 'Canes have a perfect opportunity to bolster both their physical and scoring potency with the selection of Ritchie at No. 7 overall.

Free-agent statuses courtesy of CapGeek.com.

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.

Four seasons after the Carolina Hurricanes relocated their AHL affiliate from Albany, New York, to Charlotte, North Carolina, the decision has proved to be an enormous success in every regard.

The move has vastly improved call-up logistics, dramatically reduced travel expenses and substantially expanded the popularity of the sport of hockey and the Hurricanes' brand throughout North Carolina.

The change in location was first announced in February 2010, setting up the club to move south and assume the Checkers title (Charlotte's ECHL franchise from 1993 to 2010) starting in 2010-11. The Checkers' press release at the time (archived by Travis Hughes of SB Nation) outlined the very positives that have since emerged as keys to the relocation's success:

The partnership will unite North Carolina’s two biggest cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, and form marketing and operational synergy between the state’s only two professional hockey teams.

The agreement provides advantages both on and off the ice, such as savings on travel, cross-promotion and marketability of players as they develop into future NHL stars.

Professional hockey was first played in Charlotte 58 years ago, but the last four years have exploded the sport onto the radar of North Carolina's most populous city far more than any other era to date.

Showcased in Time Warner Cable Arena—also home to the NBA's Hornets and far closer to Charlotte's city center than PNC Arena is to Raleigh's—the Checkers have ranked in the top 10 in the AHL in attendance all four years.

While the Checkers' pre-2010 ECHL incarnation also drew relatively large crowds—ranking among the top six in the 20-team ECHL with average attendance over 5,300 in each of their final three campaigns—the increased exposure of a higher-tier minor league has significantly boosted the city and the state's interest in hockey.

From 2003 to 2013, North Carolina experienced the sixth-highest uptick in youth hockey participation among the nation's 50 states, according to data from Chris Peters of The United States of Hockey.

North Carolina's 63.6 percent growth rate (equating to 2,414 more participants) also ranked second among states with an NHL team. South Carolina hockey participation increased 14.1 percent, as well.

Only a small portion of the credit can be accurately placed upon the Checkers' arrival, but a boom in Charlotte youth hockey has nonetheless coincided with the recent presence of the team. The Charlotte Metro Hockey Association was founded in 2009; by 2011, participation in the eight-and-younger group doubled and the season-to-season retention rate stood at 97 percent.

Geographical proximity has also yielded dividends for the both the Checkers and Hurricanes.

PNC Arena in Raleigh is 160.5 miles away from Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte—about one-quarter of the 631.2-mile distance between PNC Arena and the Times Union Center in Albany.

In 2013-14 alone, the 'Canes executed 32 transactions between the NHL and AHL. Thus, the ability to transport call-ups to 1400 Edwards Mill Rd. from Charlotte, rather than Albany, cut out 15,000 total miles of charter-bus travel. Assuming an average speed of 50 mph, that's about 300 hours.

Such convenience allowed Carolina's management to twice call up top AHL scorer Zach Boychuk to the NHL for a game night, then re-assign him to the AHL one day later without missing a single Checkers game. Charlotte coach Jeff Daniels accredited Boychuk's impressive campaign (74 points in 69 games) to "consistency," yet the 24-year-old forward was also able to appear in 11 NHL matches along the way.

The presence of hockey in Charlotte's diverse and intense sports spectrum has become increasingly evident in recent years.

The Checkers drew more than 483,000 to minor-league hockey in Charlotte this past season and have filled over two million seats since the move four years ago.

Team apparel can be seen on fans throughout the city during the season—and 'Canes gear is becoming more and more prevalent, too.

The geographic and commercial bond between the two affiliates has never been tighter.

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.

While the Stanley Cup Final occupies two of the top candidates for the Carolina Hurricanes' head coaching job (New York's Ulf Samuelsson and Los Angeles' John Stevens), the Calder Cup Final will soon entertain a third possible consideration: Texas Stars coach Willie Desjardins.

Desjardins, 55, has made the rounds through the global coaching circuit, leading teams everywhere from Texas to Japan to Alberta. He's had tremendous success everywhere.

However, he's never coached in the NHL.

That seems likely to change this summer.

Desjardins is considered arguably the No. 1 candidate for the Vancouver Canucks job. According to Pro Hockey Talk and the Sun-Sentinel, his name has been sneaking onto the radar for the Hurricanes and Florida Panthers' vacancies as well.

The Saskatchewan native has a connection to former Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, the only Canucks assistant retained when the club fired John Tortorella and most of his staff after this past season. 

However, Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province suggests Vancouver is also interested in re-hiring Marc Crawford—who coached the team until 2006—or bringing in Stevens—who is currently employed by the Los Angeles Kings in the ongoing SCF.

If Desjardins is passed over by the Canucks—or if new Carolina general manager Ron Francis makes a bold move to beat the Canucks to him—the fast-rising coach's path to the NHL could shift from British Columbia to North Carolina.

Desjardins is concluding his second season coaching in the AHL, where he has won the Western Conference regular-season title in both years.

He led Texas to the second round of the playoffs last spring before marching all the way to the league championship series this campaign. The Stars will play Game 1 against the St. John's IceCaps (affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets) on Sunday.

Promoted to the head coach position in Texas after two seasons as assistant coach for the NHL's Dallas Stars, Desjardins also boasts eight years of experience with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers.

Medicine Hat won the league title under his leadership in 2004 and 2007, and posted a winning record in every year but his first.

Steve Marr, a Medicine Hat defenseman under Desjardins, wrote to The Vancouver Province last year praising his former coach. His words glisten with respect:

Having had an opportunity to play under Willie’s leadership for his first three years with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Willie was the sole reason for the complete, and quick, resurection (sp) of the Tigers’ program. 

Willie’s teams are held accountable through their core values, their goals and their vision. His vision is very clear: to win a championship. His teams are successful because he gets the most out of his leadership groups...Willie knows how to utilize his team’s strengths, while constantly improving their weaknesses.

Accountability? The importance of leadership? The resurrection of a struggling program? All seem like traits the 'Canes could desperately use.

Desjardins has also reportedly gained the same admiration from his players in Texas.

"I think he's just a tremendous coach," young Stars forward Alex Chiasson told the Dallas Morning News last June. "He helped me so much, and I think he helped a lot of the players there."

Chiasson had played just nine professional hockey games (all in the AHL) prior to Desjardins' 2012 arrival. Two years later, he's coming off an impressive 35-point rookie campaign in the NHL after blossoming under Desjardins in Texas in 2012-13.

On the other hand, Desjardins also possesses some similarities to Kirk Muller—an effective communicator, a soft-spoken person, a coach with success in lower levels but no experience behind an NHL bench—and that could raise a few concerns.

It's undeniable that he would be a riskier selection as head coach than grizzled household names like John Tortorella, Kevin Dineen or Jacques Martin.  Martin interviewed, according to TVA's Louis Jean, for the 'Canes job on Tuesday

With that said, Desjardins is also a coach with a well-rounded pedigree, having instilled a winning heritage and won over the support of all everywhere he's been.

The unexpectedly lengthy duration of the 'Canes' coaching search, perhaps an indication that Samuelsson and Stevens are the top candidates, could also tie Desjardins into the mix.

He's just four wins away from claiming the Calder Cup, which would expand his trophy case to three championships in a decade.

Once the series is determined, however, the race is on for the 55-year-old coach.

Carolina can't afford to let Vancouver be the lone contender.

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.

After five seasons of odds-defying success and playing time, defenseman Jay Harrison may finally meet his end with the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2014 NHL offseason.

The 31-year-old is coming off a terrible campaign—arguably his worst and easily his most disappointing since signing with the 'Canes in July 2009. With new general manager Ron Francis seeking more consistency and well-roundedness in the defensive unit, Harrison could be on the trade block very soon.

Harrison tallied four goals and 11 assists in 68 appearances, averaging 16 minutes and 37 seconds of ice time per game. His offensive production declined from the 23 points he tallied in the full-length 2011-12 season.

If the box score numbers weren't pretty, advanced statistics skewered the 31-year-old veteran.

Per ExtraSkater.com data, Harrison ranked dead last among 'Canes defensemen with a 47.9 Corsi percentage despite benefiting from a favorable 54.5 offensive-zone start percentage, a better than average minus-1.3 percent relative quality of competition, and a unit-high 1,023 PDO (an indicator of luck).

Harrison's shot blocking also dropped off significantly, falling to an average of 1.21 per game (compared to 2.34 and 2.12 per game the previous two seasons).

Since his arrival five years ago, Harrison has revived a career once left for dead and had carved out a steady niche as a depth defenseman.

At the time, his signing was merely footnote news compared to the Toronto Maple Leafs' addition of Rickard Wallin, who finished his NHL career with 79 total appearances. Harrison entered his first training camp in Raleigh, North Carolina, fighting with less than stellar competition like Brett Carson, Bryan Rodney and Zack Fitzgerald for the Hurricanes' seventh defenseman slot.

A defensively outstanding 2010-11 campaign, however, vaulted Harrison into Carolina's nightly starting 20. Blue-line opportunism and uncanny pinching instincts made 2011-12 into the high-water point of Harrison's career to date.

But such opportunism and timing evaporated after the 2012-13 lockout. Harrison's aggressive decisions recently only seem to lead to counterattack chances the other way, highlighting his lack of skating speed and shaky defensive coverage awareness.

Despite his recent decline, Harrison may be able to fetch decent return on the trade market.

The Oilers, Panthers, Islanders, Senators and Maple Leafs all averaged more than three goals against per game in 2013-14 and might enjoy adding a veteran third-pairing rearguard this summer.

Moreover, Harrison—unlike other oft-mentioned 'Canes trade bait Cam Ward, John-Michael Liles and others—isn't weighted down by a large or excessive salary-cap hit. He carries only a $1.5 million cap hit with two years remaining on the contract, according to Capgeek.

Beneath first-pairing stars Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera, Carolina truly possessed no legitimate second-pairing blueliners this past season.

Late-summer free-agent signing Ron Hainsey took on the additional minutes admirably, but Ryan Murphy appeared overwhelmed in his rookie season, Liles didn't provide the expected offensive boost, Brett Bellemore didn't display much top-four upside and Harrison took a major step back in his play.

The Hurricanes' need for two No. 3 or No. 4 defensemen could be filled by pending free agents such as Derek Morris, Tom Gilbert, Andre Benoit, Mike Weaver, Stephane Robidas, Willie Mitchell and Anton Stralman.

But with unrestricted free agents Hainsey and Bellemore both moderately likely to be re-signed, and five other blueliners remaining under contract (Faulk, Liles, Sekera, Harrison and Murphy), one or two of the group will need to be shipped out to free up roster spots. 

After such a woeful 2013-14 season, it seems quite probable that Harrison will be the first victim.

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.