Follow me on Twitter:
@BenShelley_20
Every article, I try to include a poll question for readers to vote on, then review the results from the week’s polls every weekend. Here’s this week’s poll review and my thoughts on how they turned out.
QUESTION: Do you think the Hurricanes will re-sign Trevor van Riemsdyk?
(Votes: 41)
No: 90%
Yes: 10%
Even with a limited sample size, a 37-4 vote is pretty telling. Between van Riemsdyk, Joel Edmundson and Sami Vatanen, it’s pretty unlikely any of the UFA defenders are back, to be honest. The Brady Skjei acquisition means the Hurricanes have their top-four pretty much set and even though van Riemsdyk is a bottom-pair defender to begin with, Haydn Fleury and Jake Gardiner (for now) take up the other two spots in the bottom-pair. Van Riemsdyk didn’t have a strong year and with him turning 29 years old, Carolina is better off going younger and cheaper on their bottom-pair.
QUESTION: Carolina’s roster after the trade deadline was ___________ than it was before the deadline.
(Votes: 90)
Slightly better: 52%
Significantly better: 34%
No better: 10%
Worse: 3%
As shown with 86 per cent of the vote in the poll, Carolina’s roster was obviously better after the trade deadline, it’s just a matter of how much better it was. I tend to agree that it’s probably closer to "Slightly better," as Brady Skjei and Vincent Trocheck (and I guess Sami Vatanen too) are certainly solid additions but none are necessarily stars. Making three different sizeable upgrades, however, was almost enough to push me towards saying that it was "Significantly better" after all.
QUESTION: With the addition of another top-six forward and a starting goalie, are the Hurricanes a legitimate Cup contender?
(Votes: 100)
Yes: 86%
No: 14%
I guess it’s no secret that I was on the “Yes” side in this one, as my entire article which included this poll was making that point. It is nice to see other people agree though, for the sake of my pride. The Hurricanes really aren’t far off contending and if Dougie Hamilton and both of their goalies hadn’t gone down with injuries, Carolina may have been in a better spot by the time the year was paused. By adding a starter and a top-six winger, the Hurricanes would be just as good as almost any team in the league.
QUESTION: Of the five players listed, who do you think is most likely to not be back in Carolina next season?
(Votes: 336)
Gardiner: 56%
Dzingel: 14%
Staal: 13%
Mrazek: 9%
McGinn: 8%
Awesome voter turnout here. It’s not too surprising to see Gardiner take home the majority of the votes, based on his poor performance for a good portion of the year and the fact that he doesn’t really have a role that works for him anymore with the addition of Brady Skjei. I was a bit surprised to see Dzingel and Staal ahead of McGinn and Mrazek but truthfully, I could see any of them being moved in the offseason.
OTHER HURRICANES ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Reviewing the season (so far): Martin Necas
Reviewing the season (so far): Nino Niederreiter
Reviewing the season (so far): Brett Pesce
Reviewing this week’s polls (April 4): Hurricanes Edition
Reviewing the season (so far): James Reimer
Reviewing the season (so far): Jaccob Slavin
Reviewing the season (so far): Jordan Staal
Reviewing the season (so far): Andrei Svechnikov
Reviewing the season (so far): Teuvo Teravainen
Reviewing the season (so far): Justin Williams
Reviewing this week's polls (April 12): Hurricanes Edition
Reviewing the season (so far): Trevor van Riemsdyk
Reviewing the season (so far): All players acquired/traded this season
Hurricanes must improve in two areas to contend for a Cup
Five non-UFAs who may not be back with the Hurricanes next season 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»