Category 5: Hurricanes start post-Olympic stretch run

Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho watches the puck for a faceoff during jan. 17 game against the Devils in Newark, New Jersey. (Adam Hunger / AP Photo)

RALEIGH — The NHL season resumes for the Hurricanes on Thursday at Lenovo Center as Carolina will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first of 25 remaining regular season games as teams start the stretch run to the postseason.

1. The Hurricanes sent five players to the Winter Olympics in Italy — Denmark’s Frederik Andersen and Nikolaj Ehlers, the United States’ Jaccob Slavin, Canada’s Seth Jarvis and Finland’s Sebastian Aho — and all came back in one piece.

Other teams weren’t as lucky. The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who missed the end of the Olympic tournament after suffering an injury playing for Team Canada, is expected to be out four weeks, a crucial subtraction for a team hoping to continue its unexpected run to the playoffs.

In the Western Conference, the Kings suffered the biggest blow when No. 2 scorer Kevin Fiala, playing for Switzerland, suffered multiple breaks in his leg after getting tangled with Canada’s Tom Wilson in a game in Italy. Dallas will also be without Mikko Rantanen for a couple of weeks after an injury kept him from playing in the bronze medal game.

The fact Carolina survived the tournament seemingly unscathed is a huge relief to coach Rod Brind’Amour and the front office.

2. There was a hold-your-breath moment for Hurricanes fans when Aho wasn’t on the ice for Thursday’s morning skate. Aho had also exited Wednesday’s practice early.

Brind’Amour shrugged off those concerns Thursday morning, saying he expected Aho to play against the Lightning.

“He just didn’t feel 100% as he left yesterday, not injury-wise, just a little run down,” Brind’Amour said. “So we told him to sleep in.”

That’s good news for the Hurricanes because Aho has taken his game to another level since the calendar flipped to 2026. In the last 18 games, he has six goals and 16 assists for 22 points. His seven power play assists since Jan. 1 are tied for the sixth most in the league in that time.

Andrei Svechnikov’s eight assists are tied for third, and his 11 power play points are behind only Nikita Kucherov (15) since the start of the year.

Carolina’s power play has climbed to No. 14 after spending the early part of the season at or near the bottom of the league. Since Jan. 1, the Hurricanes are converting at 29.3%, sixth best in the NHL.

3. The Hurricanes’ Olympians are in understandably different places now that the tournament is over.

Slavin is proud to return to the U.S. with gold. Aho, while disappointed Finland came up short in the semifinal against Canada, called it an “unbelievable experience.” Jarvis said losing to the U.S. was “heartbreaking” and called winning silver motivation to win gold if he’s given another opportunity to play for Team Canada. Ehlers and Andersen both expressed their pride in Denmark earning the right to be part of the Olympic tournament even if the team was unable to pull off the upsets necessary to earn a medal.

Overall, Carolina’s representatives experienced the gamut of emotions in Italy. They also had the opportunity to share the experience with friends and family.

Jarvis’ Winnipeg friends crew — who are reaching cult status in Canada — notably made the trip.

“To have them there supporting me, just being able to see guys like that and experience that with them was incredible,” Jarvis said.

Slavin had his wife and children, along with his parents and two siblings, attend. Andersen’s fiancee and family made the trip, and Aho said he “got to share it with my family, which was really special.” Ehlers’ parents, sister and friends also attended, and he had a family member on the Danish team — linemate Alexander True is his cousin.

The scars from the Olympics will obviously be deepest for Jarvis, who — as part of Team Canada — was expected to cross the Atlantic with a gold medal. Hurricanes assistant Tim Gleason didn’t play for the favorites in 2010, but Team USA took Canada to overtime in Vancouver before losing in the gold medal game on Crosby’s “Golden Goal.”

Gleason, a defenseman on that team, still has mixed emotions about having a silver medal.

“You’re proud of it, obviously,” Gleason said after Monday’s practice. “To be able to do that for your country is awesome, and to be selected for something like that is awesome. … I have it at home. My son even asks about it all the time, and he even messes with me. He’s like, ‘Ah, it’s not gold, Dad.’ I go, ‘No, it’s not. It’s not, but it’s a heck of an experience.’

“To say you’ve been there, you’ve done it. It was a huge opportunity for the country at the time, but I think that made this time even better. … It was a bit of a blur, but it’s hard to believe 16 years later.”

Gleason said he was reminded of how great the experience was by his family.

“It definitely brings back some memories, and especially my own family,” he said. “My parents, especially, were like, ‘Oh, we miss that. We had such a great time.’ Family was involved, and my wife was there. So it was a fun, exciting time. But all of a sudden it’s 16 years later, and you’re like, ‘Holy smokes.’”

4. Over at The Athletic, I broke down a few of the names that have been kicked around as potential Hurricanes trade targets — Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Robert Thomas and Vincent Trocheck — but there are certainly more to watch.

The Hurricanes have previously expressed interest in Canucks center Elias Pettersson, and there’s a “buy-low” opportunity right now on a player who scored 102 points in 2022-23 and 89 points the following year.

His numbers have dipped dramatically since, but the turmoil of the last couple seasons in Vancouver could very well be at the center of Pettersson’s struggles. He’s still 27 with a contract that extends for six more seasons after this one. His cap hit — $11.6 million — certainly gives any team pause, but Carolina could try to soften the blow by asking the Canucks to retain some salary or perhaps take on Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s contract.

As for the aforementioned players, I think the Hurricanes would like Trocheck back, but only at the right price. The asking price for Thomas is astronomical, and Carolina might not have the kind of pieces outgoing GM Doug Armstrong will want to part with his No. 1 center.

As I wrote, Kane doesn’t seem like a good fit, but I think O’Reilly could make sense if the Hurricanes believe the veteran can keep up with the pace of playoff hockey. The way some older players in Italy struggled to keep up at the Olympics is something teams have to weigh as the league keeps getting faster.

5. While a second-line center seems like the obvious addition to many, I could see Carolina going in a couple of different directions before the March 6 deadline.

If the team were able to upgrade at 2C, that could also shore up the Hurricanes’ fourth line should it not give up a significant roster player in any deal. Moving Logan Stankoven down the lineup — either to the wing or even at 4C — would further improve Carolina’s four-line depth.

If Eric Tulsky and Co. are satisfied with Stankoven as their second-line center — and I believe they are — the Hurricanes could target an upgrade to Mark Jankowski on the fourth line. Teddy Blueger, Scott Laughton or — if the Blue Jackets become sellers — Charlie Coyle or Boone Jenner could be targets, depending on the acquisition cost.

I also believe the Hurricanes would love to add an impact defenseman to slot alongside Slavin, and two former Hurricanes — Dougie Hamilton and Justin Faulk, both right-handed — are on The Athletic’s Trade Board. That said, I think Carolina sees Alexander Nikishin, a lefty who has been playing his off side on the third pairing with Shayne Gostisbehere, as the long-term solution in that spot.

Despite having Mike Reilly as the team’s extra and two rookies they trust, Joel Nystrom and Charles Alexis Legault, in the AHL, I could see the Hurricanes adding another depth defenseman in case injuries strike.