Hurricanes’ Blue Line Benefiting From Walker and Gostisbehere’s Impact

The Carolina Hurricanes currently sit 12-3-2, 17 games into the 2026-27 season. They lead the Metropolitan Division, the Eastern Conference, and the entire NHL. Despite losing 4-1 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday night, they’ve been the best team through the first few weeks of the regular season. The Hurricanes are getting contributions up and down the lineup from the star players to the depth guys. On top of that, the blueline has been pivotal so far in 2026-27, especially from Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere. How key have those two defensemen been for head coach Rod Brind’Amour so far?

Contributing on Both Sides of the Ice

Walker has been a key piece to the Hurricanes’ blueline since joining the team ahead of the 2024-25 season. In his first season in Raleigh, he had five goals and 16 points in 82 games. During the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Brind’Amour shared his thoughts on how underrated Walker was in the postseason: “I’m glad you mentioned Walks. I think he’s been under the radar, really, all year. Whatever we ask him to do, he kind of fills in or takes charge every night. He took the lead back there. He was really solid.”

The following season, he finished with nine goals, 22 assists, and 31 points, all career highs. The 2025-26 season saw him become the anchor of the blueline as injuries decimated the group. In November 2025, during the period when Walker took on many roles and a significant bump in ice time, Brind’Amour stated, “What we’ve asked him to do, the minutes, and the matchups, he’s doing everything. (Power play, penalty kill), he’s taken all the slack for the guys who are out and done an amazing job.”

So far this season, it’s been no different. In the last 13 games, Walker has three goals, nine points, a plus-6 rating, 29 blocks, and 15 hits. He’s averaged 21:14 of ice time per game and has contributed in every facet of the game for assistant coach Tim Gleason. He has not only blocked shots; he even scored a shorthanded goal in a game where he finished with a multi-goal game for the second time in his career against the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 1. After the game, Brind’Amour stated when asked about Walker’s performance, “He’s been a special player. … Maybe he got a little more opportunity now (since coming to Carolina), and he’s just shining.”

When it comes down to it, the Hurricanes made a steal in signing Walker to his five-year, $18 million deal in July 2024. For the production he contributes on both sides of the ice, the $3.615 million has been more than worth it.

Regarding Gostisbehere, health was an issue last season as he played 55 games in 2025-26. He finished with 13 goals and 50 points, a solid production despite injuries that kept him out four separate times. If he didn’t miss so much time last season, he would have broken Brent Burns’ record for most points in a season for a defenseman (61). So far in 2026-27, he has two goals and 12 points in 17 games. He’s projected to finish with 59 points if he keeps on this current pace.