State of the Canes: Defense Overview, Projected Pairings and Speculation

The Carolina Hurricanes' defense has long been touted for its elite talent.

Led by the league-best, shutdown prowess of Jaccob Slavin, the Canes' whole team identity revolves around a skillful backend.

Not only is the blueline defensively sound and able to turn most any goaltender into a high-level performer, but they're also offensively gifted as well, having been the highest scoring defense in the entire NHL last season.

Slavin and Brent Burns made up one of the best two-way pairings in the entire NHL last season, which saw Burns set the Hurricanes team record for single season points by a defenseman (61).

Following them up is the Hurricanes' second pairing of Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei who are relied upon as the team's go-to defensive pairing. Their blend of high-end skating and puck skills pairs perfectly with their defensive awareness and stick work.

Finally, the blueline is supported by an emerging Jalen Chatfield, who put up excellent results in not only a third pairing role, but every time he moved up the lineup as well.

Carolina, apparently not satisfied with the NHL's best and deepest blueline, went out and acquired both Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo this offseason to supplement it too.

Now, the Canes have eight defensemen under NHL contract - Dylan Coghlan also signed his qualifying offer earlier in the summer - but you only play six, so what's going to give?

It's safe to say that Coghlan is purely a depth piece for the team to hang onto being that his contract is so cheap and with the lack of an AHL affiliate, he gives the team better injury security.

So how will things shake out between the other seven defensemen?

The answer is more than likely someone gets traded.

"Well what about just rotating guys?," I hear you ask. 

The issue with that is that almost everybody agrees that players need consistent time to play at their best. Rotating guys almost never pays off in the long run and every one of the seven defensemen deserve to have consistent playing time.

So who're the untouchables?

That would be Slavin and Burns. Add in Orlov and DeAngelo too since they were just acquired. And then probably Chatfield too since he's A) on a cheap deal and B) will probably extend on a cheap deal too.

So that leaves one of Skjei or Pesce as the most obvious trading chips.

The reason for that is that both are on the final years of their deals, will each be due more expensive extensions due to their talent and production levels yet both will be heading into their 30s relatively soon.

That's not a recipe the Hurricanes' front office is fond of.

Pesce has been linked in trade rumors all offseason, but Skjei is in the exact same boat as him so I can see either one being shipped out.

There are still many directions the Canes can go, so let's take a look at a few options of what the blueline could look like this season:

Projected Pairings A - The No More Moves Play
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield 
Tony DeAngelo
Dylan Coghlan

The Hurricanes don't have to make any moves to be cap compliant so perhaps they in fact don't make any.

If that proves to be the case, I wouldn't expect to see any of the top two pairs broken up, at least not early on, simply because chemistry is so crucial. 

Slavin and Burns formed one of the top pairings in the league last year and Pesce and Skjei have been partners for three straight seasons.

Leaving them together makes sense and that would mean Orlov would more than likely become Chatfield's new partner. 

I've seen the argument that you don't pay $7+ million for a third pairing player, but the Hurricanes would have three legitimate pairs and they could comfortably adapt everybody's minutes to better balance all three out, leaving it a third pairing in name alone.

There is also the fact that it has routinely taken defensemen a bit of time to adapt to Carolina's systems. Almost every blueliner that comes in has to go through a bit of a learning curve, so this could also help Orlov in a potential adjustment period.

This configuration would also leave DeAngelo out, at least initially. Injuries happen and so DeAngelo would be perhaps one of the best "callups" possible, but he could also very well be a regular starter.

Projected Pairings B - The Move Out an Upcoming UFA Play
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Brett Pesce
Jalen Chatfield - Tony DeAngelo
Dylan Coghlan

In this scenario, the Hurricanes elect to trade Skjei due to his heightened value coming off of an 18-goal campaign and much improved two-way play.

Orlov would then slide in alongside Pesce on the second pairing and DeAngelo would move up to a pair with Chatfield, who would be on his offside to allow DeAngelo to be a better facilitator with his natural handedness. 

This gives the Canes a fairly balanced blueline and one that is still very similar to last season's.

Projected Pairings C - The Move Out the Other Upcoming UFA Play
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei - Jalen Chatfield
Dylan Coghlan

In this mirrored scenario, Pesce is instead the piece that is moved out as has been consistently rumored this summer. 

Due to the loss of a stalwart defender, the Hurricanes would probably need a bit more of a shakeup on their pairings to find the right balance while also maintaining a strong defensive presence on each.

As such, Orlov would pair with DeAngelo to create a strong puck moving pairing that Orlov can also help anchor and Chatfield takes Pesce's place as Skjei's defensive-minded partner.

Projected Pairings D - No Moves, All Offense
Jaccob Slavin - Tony DeAngelo
Dmitry Orlov - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Jalen Chatfield
Dylan Coghlan

If the Hurricanes wanted to go with the nuclear option, that being a lineup geared towards the best offensive outcome possible, then perhaps this might be how they'd pair up. 

DeAngelo reunites with Slavin to allow him the most freedom and insulation, Burns teams up with Orlov for a lethal shooting combination, and Pesce and Skjei stay together as the most consistent two-way pairing.

This blueline would easily rival last year's for that scoring title.

This move would however leave out Chatfield who has only gotten better as time as gone on, so it could lead to a potentially soured relationship.

With the 2023-24 season still months away, there is still plenty of time for the Hurricanes' final lineup to shake out. However, what's apparent is that the talent on the backend will be just as high as the previous season.