Hurricanes’ Sean Walker’s Struggles Amplified by Defensive Injuries

The Carolina Hurricanes have started the 2025-26 campaign strongly. 5-1-0 after their defeat in Las Vegas is still a remarkable record, and the Hurricanes are going to look to continue building on it. However, there has been an area of the Hurricanes roster that has not performed up to the level expected: the defense. Carolina’s iconic stalwart defensive unit has been unusually leaky early in the season. There are multiple reasons, but one stands out far beyond the others — the early-season struggles of Sean Walker.

When the Hurricanes signed Walker, they were looking for a good budget option to slot into the right-hand side of their defensive unit. He did that in his first season in Raleigh, but struggled to reach the same heights to begin the new campaign. Whether it’s the elevated ice time, more challenging matchups, or just a general struggle, the Hurricanes are in a problematic position defensively with him.

Walker’s Struggles

Through six games, Walker has been on the ice for eight 5-on-5 goals against. That’s the worst on the team. Only Sam Bennett, Mackenzie Weegar, and Brayden Point have been on the ice for more goals against in the entire league. Considering he’s been tasked with playing on the top pairing, that’s a sign of struggle for someone the Hurricanes need to be better.

It isn’t fair to blame the player entirely for goals against. There is a goaltender on the ice to bail out the defense when they screw things up. That’s true, and the Hurricanes have had decent goaltending this season. However, the save percentage for the team when Walker is on the ice is just 81.82%. That’s a .812 for those more familiar with that format for save percentage. It means Walker’s performances are a problem for Carolina, but the goaltenders are struggling to cover for him.

Walker’s Elevated Role

Something else worth noting is Walker’s elevated ice time this season. Throughout his career, he averaged around 17 minutes of ice time a game. That’s a good depth defenseman, and he performed incredibly in that limited role. However, through six games, he is averaging 23:12. That extra ice time has come because he’s playing up the lineup. He’s playing on the top pair, and it should be no surprise that he’s having to adjust to that much ice time a night.

Walker has struggled to get going in an elevated role. He’s scored a goal already this season, but he’s also had a poor analytical start. Admittedly, using stats that span an average after just six games increases the likelihood of outlier games severely affecting the outcome, which means they may not truly reflect what’s happening. With that said, Walker’s goals against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (GA/60) is 4.53. That means, if he played all 60 minutes a night, the Canes would give up four or five goals. That isn’t good. However, his expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) is 2.45, according to Natural Stat Trick. It does indicate that he’s a little unlucky, and it’ll even itself out as the season goes on.