It’s a question that a lot of teams will ask themselves if things are not going right in the current season, is it time to retool or rebuild in preparation for the coming year? For the Carolina Hurricanes, the playoff drought might extend to nine seasons if things do not go right down the stretch run of the regular season.
General manager Ron Francis might have a big load on his plate come the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. Even if the Canes are no longer in playoff contention by that point, he’ll have to decide whether to stay quiet, get a big name for one final push, or sell off some assets to continue for a rebuild.