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Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Carolina Hurricanes 2024-25 Regular Season Team Awards

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Apr 19, 2025 9:45 AM ET

Well, it’s finally here, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After an 82-game season, the real fun begins as 16 teams fight for Lord Stanley. After a season with a record of 47-30-5 (99 points), the Carolina Hurricanes are back for a seventh consecutive season as head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s team looks to win the coveted Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history. The road to winning it all starts on Easter Sunday (April 20) as they will face the New Jersey Devils for Game 1. Before we get into all of that, who were the 2024-25 Regular Season Award Winners for the Hurricanes? Who will take home Team MVP? Best Forward or Defenseman? Best Rookie? Most Improved Player? Let us begin.

MVP & Best Forward: Seth Jarvis

We’re starting off here with a high probability for some debate on both of these awards. There is easily a case to be made for Sebastian Aho to take either one or both of these awards, and that is fair when you look at him leading the Hurricanes in assists (45), points (74), game-winning goals (nine), and overtime goals (five). However, if we are talking about someone who had a career season while missing games, that is Seth Jarvis. The 23-year-old is in the first year of his eight-year contract extension, and what a performance it was. While only playing in 73 games for the Hurricanes, he finished the regular season leading the team in goals (32), shorthanded goals (five), second in points (67 – tying career high) and power-play goals (seven), and third in assists (35 – career high).

If there is someone who was an all-around player this season who was noticeable in every game, it was Jarvis. He is Brind’Amour’s Swiss Army knife, who was a one-man wrecking crew on the penalty kill, more so the power kill, and was usable in all three zones. He plays bigger than his 5-foot-10 frame and has wheels to boot. His slick stick handling could get him out of a London phone booth if needed. Furthermore, he can win faceoffs when needed in any zone of the ice. When there was someone Brind’Amour needed to spark a line, Jarvis was the player he turned to. Whether it was on the “third line” with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook or on the first line with Aho and his opposite winger, Jarvis was the one that the coaching staff put there.

It does not take away from Aho, but if there was someone who stepped up, it was the Winnipeg native. Jarvis saw his career high in average time on ice (ATOI) of 19:21. He even set new career highs in shorthanded goals and shorthanded points (seven), all doing this while playing in at least six fewer games than most of the roster. If it were any other season than 2024-25, Aho would more than likely take one or both of these awards with no questions asked, but from a game-to-game basis, Jarvis stood out more and went above and beyond for the Hurricanes. After back-to-back 67-point seasons, in 81 and 73 games respectively, there is no denying that he was well on his way to a 75-plus point season. Furthermore, it’s not bad, either, when you jump into the top 30 in franchise points all-time in just your fourth NHL season. Could Aho take these awards back in 2025-26? It’s very possible, but in 2024-25, the Team MVP and Best Forward for the Hurricanes goes to Seth Jarvis.

Best Defenseman: Jaccob Slavin

It is fair to say that Jaccob Slavin will more than likely win this award every season for the Hurricanes unless someone goes off for an 80-plus point season and wins the Norris Trophy. While Shayne Gostisbehere did finish fourth on the team in points (45) and led the defense in that category, it is hard to knock off the Denver, CO native as the best defenseman on the Hurricanes. After a spectacular showing at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where the hockey world finally got to see what Hurricanes fans have been saying for years, Slavin got his flowers as the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. Slavin finished the season with six goals and 21 assists for 27 points (15th on the team) in 80 games. For the third consecutive season, Slavin finished with eight penalty minutes or fewer, which is unfathomable to the naked eye when looking at stats.

The last time he had double-digit penalty minutes was 10 back in 2021-22. He was a delay of game penalty away from zero in the silo 56-game season in 2021. It goes without question that Slavin is the premier shutdown defenseman in the NHL. His stick skills are unmatched when it comes to dislodging the puck off of the opposition’s stick and placing his body at the right angle to disrupt plays. The way he can position himself to deflect passes or just break up plays has to be studied by the highest of hockey nerds, especially when he can play like he does and hardly gets called for penalties.

Slavin should be a finalist for the Lady Byng Award again, just on his play this season. He averaged around 21:34 of ice time this season while tallying three shorthanded points (all assists). The Hurricanes’ defensive coach and former player, Tim Gleason, never has to worry about Slavin when it comes to any facet of the team’s system. When it comes to 5-on-5 play or the penalty kill, there is a reassurance that Slavin will make that tough play look like a walk in the park against even the best players in the NHL, like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. It will be pretty hard to knock Slavin off this award for the foreseeable future with the Hurricanes.

Most Improved Player: Jesperi Kotkaniemi

If there was anyone on the Hurricanes roster who needed this award the most, it was Jesperi Kotkaniemi. After having a down season in 2023-24, Kotkaniemi wanted to right the ship and have a better 2024-25 season. He did just that for the Hurricanes. He finished the regular season with 12 goals, 21 assists, and 33 points in 78 games. He took his minus-4 from last season and turned it around to a plus-9 this regular season while seeing his ATOI go up from 12:59 to 14:04. He has solidified himself as a shutdown center and someone who could be the Staal 2.0 type of player that the Hurricanes will lean on for the next few seasons. Furthermore, he saw his best-ever faceoff percentage in his time with the Hurricanes at 51.8%. What’s even more impressive is that it is also his career high in the faceoff dot. His shooting percentage went up from 9.4 to 10.4% as well, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the grand scheme of his play style, you will take that if you’re the Hurricanes.

Kotkanimei saw most of his time when it came to special teams on the second power-play unit. There is no doubt he would love to see more ice time, but getting over 14 minutes on average is not bad for the second-line center who was used as the fourth-line center at times this season for matchup purposes. Is this a massive bounce-back season? Some could argue yes, especially after having 27 points in 79 games last season. While he did have 33 points in 78 games, his defensive play got a ton better, and his role has been more defined for the Hurricanes. Give Kotkaniemi a full season in his new role as the shutdown forward, who knows where it takes him in 2025-26. Either way, 2024-25 was a season of growth for Kotkaniemi, and it was great to see him bounce back as the Hurricanes will need him in the playoffs as a shutdown center.

Best Rookie: Jackson Blake

This is a slam-dunk answer for the Best Rookie on the Hurricanes as the guy who played 80 games in his first season in the NHL. Jackson Blake finished 10th on the team in points (34) after scoring 17 goals and tallying 17 assists. The Hobey Baker Finalist showed why he was one of the best prospects in the Hurricanes’ system, especially with breaking out of camp on the Opening Night roster. Even when he had a 22-game goalless streak, he was still very noticeable on the ice for the Hurricanes. Blake had an underrated season that needs to be talked about more around the NHL. He finished the season seventh in goals for rookies, tied ninth in assists, and 10th in points. Six of his 17 goals in his rookie season were game-winning goals, putting him second behind Aho.

Jackson Blake, Carolina Hurricanes (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Given that, even with the goalless run, he was still putting up points for the Hurricanes. He started the season flipping between the third and fourth lines before being put on the top line with Aho and Mikko Rantanen in late January and February. Once Jarvis joined Blake and Aho, that line was nothing short of dynamic between the trio. Blake spent the rest of the season on the first line with Jarvis and Aho, and if he is given a full season with those two, there is a solid chance his sophomore season could see him score 40 to 50 points. Not a bad rookie season for 2021’s 109th overall pick from Fargo, North Dakota, in his first season in the NHL.

Biggest Surprise & Newest Addition: Taylor Hall

These two awards could be given to one player or multiple players. Eric Robinson comes to mind after a career season he had across the board with 14 goals and 32 points in 82 games. Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski could be given some consideration after being acquired at the trade deadline on March 7. Even Jack Roslovic, who had 22 goals and 39 points for the Hurricanes. However, these awards have to go to the player who, at first, was the afterthought in the blockbuster three-team trade back on Jan. 24 between the Hurricanes, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Colorado Avalanche. In his 31 games with the Hurricanes, Taylor Hall has been the biggest surprise and newest addition in 2024-25.

Hall finished fifth on the team in points (42), but with the Hurricanes alone, he tallied nine goals and 18 points. He had four power-play goals (PPG), which led to a run of five consecutive games with a PPG for the Hurricanes. No one thought that Hall was the guy to turn around an ice-cold power play and make it hum towards the end of the season. Hall’s instant chemistry with Kotkaniemi was apparent early on as he spent most of his time in Carolina on the top six and saw tons of time on the number one power-play unit. If there could be an X-factor for the Hurricanes in the playoffs, it could be Hall, who is looking to win his first-ever Stanley Cup. He is in the final season of his four-year deal. Out of all of the guys who were added in free agency last summer and through trades, it is clear that Hall has that slight edge over all of them after a spectacular 31-game run for the Hurricanes.

Roster Full of Award Winners

The one thing the Hurricanes have that many teams want is depth, and there is a ton of it in Carolina. There are a lot of players who could make a case to win these awards, and rightfully so. From the Jordans (Staal and Martinook) to Robinson and Roslovic to even Gostisbehere and Sean Walker, anyone could have a stake in winning these awards next season. This is a good problem to have if you’re the Hurricanes, where anyone could be an impact player in their own right with their skillsets. What helps is that every player is pulling in the same direction, which has led this franchise to seven consecutive playoff appearances in the Brind’Amour Era. With the postseason starting on Saturday, April 19, who could win the Hurricanes’ Team Playoff Awards?