The Carolina Hurricanes don’t have any injuries to their forward group, yet what their lines may look like remains uncertain.
One player who may be able to win a spot in the lineup is Morgan Geekie. Geekie may have only played two games with the Hurricanes but he looked like a great fit in the bottom-six and he may have stuck with the team if the season hadn't been paused.
That said, the Hurricanes already have a crowded forward group up.
We know six players are locked into the top-nine: Aho, Necas, Svechnikov, Staal, Teravainen, Trocheck
Then three of the next five will fill out in the top-nine: Dzingel, Foegele, McGinn, Niederreiter, Williams
That leaves two players from the second group, along with Jordan Martinook on the fourth line.
Given that Geekie could play center if he was slotting into the lineup, the most likely scenario that could lead to him playing would be either Martinook or McGinn being scratched, with Geekie at center if Martinook was scratched or potentially playing on the wing if McGinn was scratched.
There’s also the possibility that the Hurricanes could go a bit off the board and scratch Ryan Dzingel, who was scratched at points of the season. There’s going to be an odd man out in the top-nine and if it’s Dzingel, it could be more worthwhile to play Geekie, Martinook and McGinn in a role they’re more suited for, rather than playing Dzingel on the fourth line.
I’m not sure that Geekie will be in the lineup right away but if things don’t go according to plan or someone gets injured, there’s a possibility for him to get into some playoff action. He’s versatile and has playoff experience, as a key part of Charlotte’s Calder Cup win last season. So while he may be unlikely to start the series in the lineup, it certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see him playing at some point in the playoffs.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Do you think Morgan Geekie will be used in the playoffs?
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