Carolina Hurricanes: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

How good is the Carolina defense?

As much as I liked Noah Hanifin, there’s no denying that Dougie Hamilton is a big upgrade. I thought the Hurricanes should target a No. 1 defenseman in the offseason in order to push Justin Faulk, and every other defender, down a beg. Don Waddell did just that.

Not only did he add Hamilton, but he swooped in and signed Calvin de Haan when no one had Carolina in the mix. Throw in Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce and Carolina has six guys who would play a top-four role on a lot of teams.

Of course, all of this assumes they keep Faulk. If he’s traded, Haydn Fleury becomes their sixth guy. That’s slightly less impressive. Still, there are very few weaknesses across the defensive board for Carolina.

The addition of Hamilton will immediately help the Hurricanes 22nd ranked power play. With Faulk as the quarterback and Hamilton as the shooting threat, Carolina should be in the top half of the league with the man advantage. Along with his presence on the power play, Hamilton will contribute offensively at even strength. His 17 goals were tied for the league lead by a defenseman.

Like Hamilton, de Haan brings puck movement from the backend. The shoulder injury is a concern, but I’m operating under the assumption that he’ll be healthy and in form. If they choose to do so, Carolina has a reliable breakout starter on all three pairings. Not many teams have that kind of luxury.

Defensively, there will be some struggles among those three. Faulk is undersized and typically out-of-position, de Haan isn’t a physical player, and Hamilton takes too many penalties. Fortunately, the other three will take on more of a defensive role to balance things out.

There’s still one big problem.