3 weakest links Carolina Hurricanes should promptly get rid of ft. Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Tea Carolina Hurricanes Made their second Eastern Conference Finals Appearance Over the Last Three Years in 2024-25.

Unfortantly, their round 3 record Dropped to a Lowly 1-8 after a gentleman’s sweet at the Hands of the Florida Panthers.

It was once again evident that the canes we pushed surround by the back-to-back Stanley Cup Championsand change is neded to be able to compete with the league’s best.

They’ve made the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons, so there is no need to do anything crazy, but the Carolina Hurricanes Have So Players they should be Looking to Offload this Summer to Improve The Roster.

3 WeAkest Links Carolina Hurricanes Should Get Rid of

#3 Tyson Jost

Tyson Jost Wasn’t Too Big of A Factor for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2024-25, but it doesn’t feel necessary to extend him on new contract. They signed the 27-Year-Old to One-Year, Minimum Deal, and Realistically, He Provided the Value You Would Expect.

However, we saw How Impactful the Florida Panthers’ Fourth Line Was, So Carolina Needs to Take A Page Out Of Their Book and Add Some Jam to its Fourth Line. Jost Plays Hard, But the Canes Have the Cap Space and the Need to Become Harder to Play Against.

#2 Dmitry Orlov

This One Shouldn’t Be in Question. Dmitry Orlov Is Set to Become A UFA, and it’s hard to imagine anyhowing where it it makes sense for the Hurricanes to re-Sign Him. Orlov Had Two decent Seasons in Carolina, but I’m not sure he provided the $ 7.75 million value they paid for. He Particularly Struggled in These Playoffs, Further Reason that Eric Telsky Should let the Veteran walk in free agency.

While Losing Players for Nothing is Never Ideal, The Canes Have A Great Replacement in Alexander Nikishin. The 23-Year-Old is one of the Most Highly Lookd Prospects in Hockey and Can Easily Take Over Orlov’s Role, and Quite Honestly, Do It Better. He Showed Flashes During His Short Stint This Postseason, which Should have Have Hurricanes fans excited for what’s to come.

#1 Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Has been a failed Experiment Thus Far in Carolina. The surprise offered sheet to pry him out of Montreal In 2022 Felt Like A Risk at the time, and we are that that play out through His first four Seasons as a Hurricane. Kotkaniemi Has Had Some Moments and Consistantly Produced Around 30 points, but he just hasn’t come close to living up to the expectations of being a third overall pick.

Carolina signed Him to that eight-year, $ 38,560,000 WORTH $ 4.82 million contract per season with the idea that kotkaniemi would improve and emerge as a potential second-line. Instead, He’s Pretty Much Stayed the Same, and the Last Two Years Have Been Worse Than Career-Best 2022-23 Campaign. Getting off his contract could be an outcome, but it’s Worth an attempt.