Devils 2024-25 Metro Opponent Preview: Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes will still be a formidable opponent for the New Jersey Devils in 2024-25, but the gap should narrow

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We're getting close to the start of the 2024-25 regular season, meaning it's time to start wrapping up Metropolitan Division opponent previews. There are only two teams left to cover, beginning with the Carolina Hurricanes, who finished second in the Metro a season ago.

It was quite an interesting offseason in Raleigh. There was plenty of turnover to the Hurricanes roster, but even with plenty of new faces and departures, this team should be in the thick of the race for a top spot in the Metro.

Devils Forward Group Looking Deeper and More Talented

The Hurricanes don't have a weakness per se, but their forward group doesn't have the depth it did last season, especially since they failed to re-sign Jake Guentzel. Without him, they're again lacking a high-end scorer.

But it's not just losing Guentzel that hurt the Hurricanes' forward depth. Stefan Noesen signed with the Devils, and Teuvo Teravainen returned to the Chicago Blackhawks on a three-year deal. Noesen totaled 37 points a season ago, while Teravainen finished with 25 goals and 53 points.

The Hurricanes' projected first line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis will cause problems for most teams. But after them? There are certainly some question marks.

A second line of Jack Roslovic, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas doesn't inspire much confidence. Necas has the most upside of those three, but his play has been inconsistent, aside from a 71-point season in 2022-23.

Retaining Jordan Martinook was key, as he and Jordan Staal were two of the best defensive forwards in the NHL last season. They will help form an elite shutdown line for the Hurricanes, which should help make up for not having a ton of scoring pop.

I wouldn't have said this entering last season for sure, but at least on paper, the Devils look like they have a deeper forward group than the Hurricanes entering 2024-25. While we don't know what the line combos will be just yet, the Devils' top six looks like it'll be more threatening than the Hurricanes'.

• Tomáš Tatar - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer

• Timo Meier - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt