The narrative surrounding the Carolina Hurricanes this off-season was that an inevitable step back was looming.
Departures of Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen promised to sap the team of scoring ability, while the team’s reliable second pairing of Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce was gone, forcing moves up the depth chart and newcomers to try to cover the losses.
With October in the books and a tough road trip handled to the tune of a 5-1-0 record, none of that has come to pass. While all of the team’s new additions seem like good fits, it’s the return of Shayne Gostisbehere that has proven to be the most valuable.