NHL Countdown: No. 13 Carolina Hurricanes

Luke DeCock, Sporting News Yearbooks Leading into the Oct. 1 season openers, Sporting News will preview one NHL team per day, counting backward from our preseason No. 30 ranked team to No. 1. After a season that went longer than expected, the Hurricanes did less than expected over the summer. Their big free-agent signings? Forwards Erik Cole and Chad LaRose. Both were free agents for about 48 hours before returning to the Hurricanes. Eric Staal has the ability to carry the Hurricanes, as evidenced by his play in the first round of the playoffs last season. By re-signing those two players, the Hurricanes go into this year with essentially the same team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season before being swept by the eventual champion Penguins. Of course, the big changes for the Hurricanes happened in the middle of last season, when they replaced Stanley Cup-winning coach Peter Laviolette with his predecessor, Paul Maurice, and picked Jussi Jokine...