Carolina Hurricanes: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

RALEIGH, NC - APRIL 7: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal that was assisted by Phillip Di Giuseppe #34 during an NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7, 2018 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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NEWARK, NJ – MARCH 27: Scott Darling #33 of the Carolina Hurricanes surrenders a goal as Miles Wood #44 of the New Jersey Devils starts to celebrate on March 27, 2018 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Hurricanes 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Goaltending?

As in, who is the No. 1 goalie? Or, do they realize their options are Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek? I’d also accept, are they better off going with six skaters and no goalie?

This is by far the biggest issue for the Hurricanes heading into next season. Unless a trade nets the team a proven No. 1 guy, the Hurricanes are content with Darling and Mrazek as their netminders.

You know the old saying. If you think you have two No. 1 options, you really have zero No. 1 options. And if your two No. 1 options are actually fringe No. 2 options, you should probably see what Arturs Irbe is up to.

Darling’s $4.1 million salary dictates that he will be the starter coming into training camp. He had a 3.18 GAA and .888 save percentage last season. The team in front of him wasn’t good and he certainly wasn’t good enough to bail them out.

Mrazek comes in following an abysmal stint with the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite being on a better team, his numbers there were comparable to Darling’s, which tells you all you need to know.

Carolina hopes that a strong defense will mask their poor goaltending. I’d be more sold on that idea if their defensive additions were better at defense. Hamilton and de Haan will help transitioning from defense to offense, but things will be a struggle for those times they don’t have the puck on their stick.

Next: Washington Capitals: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

There’s always a chance Carolina gets a goalie in any potential Faulk or Skinner trade. They can’t be dumb enough to think the Darling-Mrazek combo is anything more than a “buy one at 50 percent off, get the other one free” special at K-Mart.

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