The Hurricanes’ 2021 offseason will likely be judged more by how the players who have left behave with their new teams than by the contribution of Carolina’s new additions.

Defeats Dougie Hamilton and Jake Bean in defense, Brock McGinn and Warren Foegele up front, and Alex Nedeljkovic and veteran Petr Mrazek, drafted and developed at net, highlight a roster overhaul that will be certainly debated in the years to come.

But neither did the Hurricanes come out empty-handed from a crazy week.

Goalkeeper

Who is in: Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, Alex Lyon

Who went out : Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer

What this means: The number of combined NHL hits for the team’s three new goalies is almost the same as last year’s trio ($ 7.265 million last year versus $ 7.25 million this year), so the account that Carolina was “too cheap” to sign Nedeljkovic doesn’t really fly.

The point is, the Hurricanes are convinced that Nedeljkovic’s brilliant 2020-21 campaign was an anomaly and that his performance going forward will be more like the .904 save percentage he has achieved in four seasons in the AHL.

The team also knew what they had in both Mrazek and Reimer – the first a goalie who has struggled with injuries in recent seasons and the other a veteran substitute who fell to third in the league. Carolina Depths chart.

That said, the Hurricanes can’t be sure what they’ll get out of their new group.

Andersen – who was drafted by Carolina in the seventh round in 2010 but never signed – has the highest cap of the six goalies. Since joining the league in 2013-14, Andersen has won more games than any other goaltender except four, and he has received Vezina Trophy votes twice. The flip side is that Andersen lost his starting position to Jack Campbell in Toronto and apparently never regained the trust of Maple Leafs fans after the team collapsed in the first round in 2018 during of Game 7 against the Bruins.

As for Raanta, he has struggled with injuries in recent years but has proven he can carry a team when in good health. When active, Raanta is undeniably one of the best goalies in hockey. If injuries strike again, Lyon are not as good an option as Reimer but are cheap and have played a similar role with Philadelphia over the past four seasons.

Defense

Who is in: Ethan Bear, Ian Cole, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith

Who went out : Jake Bean, Jani Hakanpaa, Dougie Hamilton

What this means: Hamilton’s play throughout his seven-year, $ 63 million contract with New Jersey will determine whether Carolina made the right choice in letting one of the game’s best right-handed defenders go. Like Nedeljkovic at net, the Hurricanes knocked out a player they had invested in with Bean, sending him to Columbus. Hakanpaa brought physicality to the team’s lower pair as a trade deadline acquisition.

Bear, acquired from Edmonton in exchange for Warren Foegele, gives Carolina another right-handed defenseman who plays a more complete game than offensive spirit Bean. Cole is a fantastic addition to the locker room and a reliable third partner with two Stanley Cup rings, and Smith – another right-hander – brings more grunts than Hakanpaa at a cheaper price.

But let’s be honest: The addition of Mercurial DeAngelo – who was bought out by Rangers after an altercation last season with a teammate turned out to be the last straw – to replace Hamilton will determine whether the defensive rebuild will be successful. .

Before

Who is in: Josh Leivo, Stefan Noesen, Derek Stepan

Who went out : Warren Foegele, Morgan Geekie, Brock McGinn, Cédric Paquette

What this means: The Hurricanes have made some big changes with their forward depth. Word all along was that Foegele, McGinn and Jordan Martinook would return next season, and that came true when Martinook received a three-year extension, while McGinn signed to Pittsburgh and Foegele transferred to Edmonton. Geekie was lost in the Seattle expansion draft.

Leivo is a useful depth striker who should be able to fill any of those vacancies, while Stepan is a reliable veteran center whose days as a strong complementary points producer are likely behind him. That said, Stepan should be an improvement over Paquette, who never seemed to match the Hurricanes and signed with Montreal. Noesen has entered into a bilateral agreement and can replace it if needed. Smith, a defenseman by trade, has played a winger during his career.

The Hurricanes still have plenty of room to make another addition up front, even with a new deal for restricted free agent Andrei Svechnikov yet to be struck. Carolina could dip their toe into the second wave of free agency or trade to add another top-nine forward. Don’t rule out that one of the team’s prospects – Jack Drury, Seth Jarvis, Ryan Suzuki or someone else – wins a spot at camp.