The Carolina Hurricanes are off to a hot start in their 2026-27 campaign and while there are a lot of reasons why they're seeing so much success, a big one is thanks to defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

The veteran blueliner has been an offensive dynamo for the Hurricanes, both at 5v5 (18 goals for) and on the power play (11 goals for), with nearly half of the team's total goals on the year coming in his minutes (29/64 goals for).

"He's an offensive-minded player with a high skill level in that regard," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "He thinks the game on offense all the time. When you give players like him room, he's as good as it gets."

Gostisbehere has taken his game to another level since joining the Hurricanes too, with 25 goals and 117 points in 165 games with Carolina, and he's showing no signs of slowing down.

That was perhaps a bit of a worry last season though, as the American defender had already missed nearly 11 games by this point in the year and would end of up missing a total of 27 by the end of the regular season.

But when he was in the lineup, he was a nightly difference maker who finished the year at nearly a point-per-game pace (13g, 50pts in 55gp).

This year, the 33-year-old blueliner has essentially continued that same level of production, with two goals and 12 points in 17 games, and he's doing that while being fully healthy and showing no signs of lingering issues or wear.

"I feel good," Gostisbehere said. "Obviously getting a little older, so you have to some things a little differently, take care of the body a little more, but I feel good."

On top of the consistent scoring, Gostisbehere is also pacing the entire league in terms of total chance share, with Carolina owning 65% of the 5v5 chances while he's on the ice.

He's been on the ice for just six goals against in over 200 minutes of ice time and this has also come with him having a revolving door of partners as well from Charles Alexis Legault to Mike Reilly and Juuso Valimaki. 

Gostisbehere has been far and away one of the league's most impactful players relative to playing time, which is a testament to how the Hurricanes have deployed him.

He's not getting tough matchups, but the team doesn't need him to. 

They've put him in positions to succeed (he has had four times as many offensive zone starts as defensive zone starts) and he's taken advantage of those situations nearly every time.

He's out there in nearly every important offensive situation and anytime the team is in need of a goal and he's proven he can slide up the lineup too if they need him to.

That's why his next contract discussion is going to be a very interesting one.

Gostisbehere has been one of the best values for money over the course of his three-year, $3.2 million AAV deal, but his production combined with the increasing cap is obviously going to afford him a much bigger payday.

"I'm in no rush," Gostisbehere said about playing this year out on an expiring deal. "If they want to talk, we can talk, but I'd say we're just taking it easy and seeing how the season goes. Obviously it was a short summer for all of us, so just taking it day-by-day." 

Yes, he'll be 34 by the time he enters a new deal, but if he can continue to defy the age curve and produce at the level he has become accustomed to, then he'll be a very sought after talent and if you're Carolina, you're going to want to keep him around.

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