The Carolina Hurricanes are certainly not known as one of the tougher teams in the NHL. In fact, they finished dead last in the league with only 5 fighting majors this past regular season. Obviously, much more goes into toughness than just dropping the gloves, but the Hurricanes also finished 30th in hits per 60 and 32nd in blocks per 60 last season.
The fact of the matter is Carolina just hasn’t put a focus on toughness and grit when building their recent teams. It’s not the style they have been looking for. The team has still been extremely successful, making the playoffs in five straight seasons and the Eastern Conference Finals this past year. However, based on the moves Carolina has made this offseason, it certainly appears that they are making a clear effort to add more toughness and grit to the roster for 2023-24.
The Hurricanes have added a few pieces this summer that will certainly make them tougher to play against next season.
Michael Bunting
One of Carolina’s biggest offseason signings is 27-year-old LW Michael Bunting. He signed a three-year contract worth $4.5 million per season. Bunting is a hard-nosed player who certainly isn’t afraid to mix things up and aggravate his opponents. He also is a skilled scorer and great net-front presence; good enough to play in the top six.
Michael Bunting is certainly more of an agitator than an enforcer, but he brings a physicality to the lineup that Carolina hasn’t had a lot of in recent years. He has no problem getting under the opponent’s skin and causing all kinds of mayhem on the ice. He also can score.
Bunting played all 82 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, scoring 23 goals, 26 assists, 49 points, a +21 rating, 103 penalty minutes, and 85 hits. In his 187-game NHL career, he’s scored 57 goals, 69 assists, 126 points, a +47 rating, 197 penalty minutes, and 204 hits.
Bunting has the potential to be a 50-point, 100-penalty-minute player; something the Hurricanes haven’t had since Jeff O’Neill in 2000-01. He will certainly be improving the grit factor in Carolina.
Dmitry Orlov
Another major signing for the Hurricanes is 31-year-old D Dmitry Orlov. Orlov inked a two-year deal worth $7.75 million per season. He’s certainly not known as a brutish defenseman, but he is sneaky physical at times and not afraid to throw big hits.
Orlov has had a very solid career as a top-four defenseman. Last season, he split between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins playing 66 games, scoring 7 goals, 29 assists, 36 points, a +12 rating, 85 blocked shots, and 137 hits. In his 709 career games, Orlov has put up 64 goals, 209 assists, 273 points, a +114 rating, 805 blocked shots, and 1138 hits. He’s had over 100 hits in seven of his 11 NHL seasons.
Dmitry Orlov is a very good defenseman and more physical than many people realize. He’s certainly not a Radko Gudas or Luke Schenn, but he will add some bite to the blue line in Carolina.
Brendan Lemieux
Finally, and perhaps the most surprising signing is LW Brendan Lemieux. The 27-year-old signed a 1-year deal worth 800K for next season. While Michael Bunting and Dmitry Orlov add grit, they are also very productive players. What makes the Lemieux signing surprising is that he is pretty much just a tough guy. He’s certainly not the type of player we’re used to seeing in a Hurricanes uniform.
Last season, Lemieux played for the LA Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. In 45 games, he scored 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points, 74 penalty minutes, 131 hits, and had 6 fighting majors. In his 275 career NHL games, he has 33 goals, 36 assists, 69 points, 484 penalty minutes, 667 hits, and 31 fighting majors.
Lemieux is purely a fourth-line tough guy who has no problem with the physical side of the game. The Hurricanes have not had many players like Lemieux in their history, and certainly not in the last ten years. It remains to be seen how much Lemieux actually plays, but if he’s in the lineup, he brings a whole new level of grit and toughness to the Carolina Hurricanes.
A New Direction
The additions of Michael Bunting, Dmitry Orlov, and Brendan Lemieux show that the Carolina Hurricanes are making a concerted effort to add grit and toughness to the team. This is definitely a new direction for Carolina, who have not been an overly tough team in recent years.
The Hurricanes are far from the first team to move in this direction after falling short in the postseason. The Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and others have made the effort to add toughness in recent years. Now it looks like the Hurricane’s turn.
Whether or not this direction leads to more playoff success remains to be seen. One thing is for sure though, for people who like the kind of hockey I do, the Hurricanes will be a lot more fun to watch next season.
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