The Carolina Hurricanes enter 2026-27 with the kind of setup that makes bold predictions feel pretty reasonable. They’re coming off their second Stanley Cup, and if this group stays together, there’s a real path for another huge season in Raleigh. Three things stand out as the most likely outcomes.
First, the Hurricanes could finish atop the Eastern Conference again. Last season, they became the first team in franchise history to grab the No. 1 seed in the East, going 53-22-7 for 113 points.
Buffalo was next at 109, with Tampa Bay right behind at 106. Carolina also scored 296 goals, the second-most in the NHL and a franchise record.
That kind of season came with plenty of turbulence. The Hurricanes were hit hard by injuries early and often, playing most of the year without Jaccob Slavin and also losing K’Andre Miller, Jalen Chatfield, Alexander Nikishin, and Shayne Gostisbehere, who was out four times.
Seth Jarvis and other forwards missed time too. Even with all that, they still found a way to finish first while leaning on Brandon Bussi for most of the starts in goal.
If they’re healthier this time around, they have a strong chance to land back near the top of the league. Their Sept. 29 opener against the Florida Panthers will offer an early look at how they’re rolling out of the gate.
Another strong bet: Nikolaj Ehlers could finish as Carolina’s points leader. In his first season in Raleigh, he posted 26 goals, 45 assists and 71 points in 82 games.
That was a career year in multiple ways, including his first 45-assist season and his first time reaching 70 points. Considering he spent 10 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, that’s a strong debut in a new system.
The slow start is what makes the ceiling even more interesting. Ehlers didn’t score his first goal for the Hurricanes until Game 12 on Nov. 4 against the New York Rangers.
If he gets off to a quicker start in 2026-27, 30 goals is well within reach for the first time in his career. Pair that with another 40 to 45 assists, and 80 points is on the table.
He finished only nine points behind Sebastian Aho last season, and that sets up an intriguing internal race. Could Ehlers push Aho?
Could Aho, with the pressure of a Stanley Cup no longer sitting on his shoulders, respond with a career year of his own? That’s one of the more interesting storylines to watch.
Then there’s Brandon Bussi, who could set a new career high in wins. His first NHL season was as good as Carolina could have hoped.
He went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .895 save percentage and two shutouts in the regular season. In the playoffs, he was even sharper: 3-1-0, a 1.60 GAA, a .931 save percentage and one shutout.
He also helped the Hurricanes win the Cup by winning three straight starts in three straight games.
Bussi signed a three-year, $5.7 million deal in February, worth $1.9 million per season through 2028-29, and he’s projected as the 1A in a tandem with Pyotr Kochetkov. After making 39 starts last season, it would not be a surprise to see him get into the 45-to-50 start range in 2026-27.
If that happens, a 32- to 35-win season is a realistic target. Kochetkov’s workload will matter too, especially with the schedule rising from 82 to 84 games.
Even if he lands around 39 starts again, Carolina should still have a workable split in goal.
The bottom line is simple: if the Hurricanes stay healthy, come out firing and avoid the sluggish stretches that can derail a season, they have every chance to deliver another massive year. After a 16-3 playoff run, that’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
In Other News...
Alexander Nikishin Is Putting Real Pressure On The Hurricanes
Alexander Nikishins situation has moved from a future-planning item to a real roster issue for the Hurricanes. The defenseman remains unsigned, and the market around him has only added to the pressure, with his name now being tied to potential trade or signing destinations such as Calgary, Philadelphia, Seattle, Vancouver and Winnipeg. For Carolina, this is the kind of contract standoff that can quietly shape the rest of the summer, especially when one of the top remaining restricted free agents is still sitting there without a deal.
What makes the file linger is the size of the ask and the ripple effect it could have across the league. Nikishin is believed to want a major payday, and that alone puts Carolina in a delicate spot as teams around the NHL continue to monitor the situation closely. If the Hurricanes are going to keep him in the fold, they may have to act decisively, because the longer this stays unresolved, the more it looks like a test of how far the club is willing to go to secure one of its most intriguing young defensemen. [Read more 🡒]
How The Hurricanes Found A Playoff Edge Against The Islanders
Through the first four games of the 2023 playoff series with the Islanders, Carolina kept leaning on the same things that have long defined its postseason identity: sharp special teams, reliable goaltending and enough timely execution to make New York chase the game. The Hurricanes took the first two games, stumbled in Game 3, and then adjusted their look again for the next night, trying to keep the series on their terms while the edges of the matchup started to matter as much as the big-picture structure.
MacKenzie MacEachern was part of that Game 4 shuffle, stepping into the lineup and giving Carolina a new wrinkle at a moment when every small decision carried extra weight. The Hurricanes have spent the series searching for the right blend of depth and pace against an Islanders team built to drag things into tighter spaces, and the way they used that new mix offered one more sign that this had become less about momentum and more about making the right move at the right time. [Read more 🡒]