What feels like an eternity ago, Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes were swept from the playoffs. That made it five straight trips to the postseason in consecutive seasons without a Stanley Cup Final Appearance. In a little more than a week that will all be hindsight. For good.
Sure, we have had some preseason action to help get the juices flowing. Now, however, we are entering October, and in a little more than a week meaningful hockey will be played. As with the start of every season, us fans need to have an expectation and a measure of success for which to grade this season on.