NHL schedule release 2018: Carolina Hurricanes have the hardest slate

The Carolina Hurricanes face a brutal schedule in 2018-19

Life isn’t easy for the Carolina Hurricanes. They haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in almost a decade. Each year, the Hurricanes appear to be on the verge of breaking out, but they fall short each time. An offseason of changes could ignite the team and help them in the long-run. But their 2018-19 schedule is the hardest in the NHL.

First of all, the Hurricanes are already sitting at the poker table with a bad hand because they play in the Metropolitan Division. This division features the past three Stanley Cup champions, including the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. As long as the Pittsburgh Penguins have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, they’ll be tough to beat.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are yet another talented team in the Metropolitan Division. They have elite talents, such as Sergei Bobrovsky, Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, and Artemi Panarin. The Blue Jackets could be even better next season.

Also, the Philadelphia Flyers appear to be a team on the right path to contention. They’ve got a great mix of veterans and young players. A move to left-wing has revived Claude Giroux’s career and Sean Couturier has blossomed into a true top center. Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere lead a dynamic blueline.

It’s not set in stone, but the New York Islanders should be better after hiring Barry Trotz. This, of course, assumes they re-sign captain John Tavares. The New Jersey Devils are a young, budding team, led by Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall.

On paper, there will be at the most one really bad team in the Metropolitan Division other than the Hurricanes next year – the New York Rangers. So at least Carolina can hang their hat on that.

That’s a good thing because the Hurricanes schedule is extremely tough. They’re tied with the Florida Panthers for the most back-to-backs with 17. Five of those sets come in March. Of those 10 games, eight of them will be against a team who made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2017-18. The Hurricanes play 16 games in total in March, with 13 of those games being against playoff teams from 2017-18.

Carolina plays 32 games in 65 days after opening their second half on Feb. 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hurricanes are a young team, so this is sub-optimal, to say the least.

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While their new owner Thomas Dundon will understandably be wanting to see results as much as the fans, he ought to practice patience and consider how unlucky the Hurricanes’ schedule is.