Carolina Hurricanes: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

Who is the No. 1 center?

Jordan Staal’s time in Carolina has been disappointing at best and “we traded the wrong Staal brother” at worst.

When he was acquired in 2012, it made sense Two Staal’s are better than one, obviously. Jordan was ready to take the next step in his career, which wasn’t happening behind Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh. He would be the No. 2 center, the Staal’s would light the NHL world on fire like the Eastern Conference Sedin Twins, and the Hurricanes would win all the Stanley Cups.

Narrator: that’s not what happened.

Staal has failed to crack the 50-point mark in every season since coming to Carolina. He went from the No. 2 option to the No. 1 option after Eric fell on hard times and was traded to New York.

It doesn’t seem like a team can win with Staal as their top center.

But if it’s not Staal, who is it?

Victor Rask isn’t the answer. After showing promise in 2015-16 with 21 goals and 48 points, his production dropped to 14 goals and 31 points last season. He’s only 25 years old, but expecting to make the leap from fringe second line center to bonafide top line center is begging for disappointment.

Martin Necas, the No. 12 pick in 2017, will get his chance. However, asking a 19-year-old to pilot this offense is asking too much too soon. Necas might surprise everyone and take the league by storm. My forecast calls for sunny days.

In the NHL, you can’t win without two very good centers. The Hurricanes have zero very good centers. Either someone needs to step up or Waddell needs to make a big move.