Hurricanes’ Playoff Run Will Be Driven By Young, Low-Cost Stars

The Hurricanes’ homegrown core has kept them competitive all season — and is now leading a playoff charge for an organization that has thrived on young, low-cost talent.

Rookie center Seth Jarvis opened the scoring in Monday’s 5-1 dismantling of the Bruins in Game 1, finishing the evening with a goal and an assist. The 20-year-old has now recorded at least one point in eight consecutive contests.

Jarvis is just the latest success story for a Carolina franchise betting on youth — and keeping the team’s cap hit low in the process.

• Jarvis’ and Martin Necas’ entry-level contracts carry 2021-22 cap hits of just $894,167 and $863,333, respectively.
• Sebastian Aho holds the largest 2021-22 cap hit ($8.5M) on the team after the Canes were forced to match an offer sheet from the Canadiens in 2019 — but it’s still just the 33rd-largest hit in the league this season.
• Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 pick in 2018, accounts for $7.8M of cap space — second on the team but 52nd in the NHL.
• Jaccob Slavin is the Canes’ highest-paid defender at a $5.3M cap hit — which is 49th among all NHL defensemen.

Impressively, Carolina drafted each of these stars — the oldest (Slavin) just turned 28.

Though experience often wins the day in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the young Hurricanes are impressive, and sportsbooks are taking notice: Carolina currently has the sixth-best odds (+900) to win it all.