The Carolina Hurricanes rebuilt the right way. Not many NHL teams can say that their farm system could realistically be separated into tier 1 and tier 2 prospects, and those tier 2’s still have legitimate shots at NHL-regular status.
The Charlotte Checkers have been buzzing of late, and they’re getting contributions on all fronts. The team was actually slow out of the gate, for they found themselves in last place in the Eastern Atlantic for a while.
It’s fair to say there was a slight Calder Cup hangover, but there was also major roster turnover and a head coaching change.