Defense wins championships and the Carolina Hurricanes certainly have played solid defense thus far in the season.
An unexpected contributor has played a key part in the stability of the blue line in the first half of the season, Calvin De Haan.
Familiar with Carolina, having played in Raleigh for the 2018-19 season, De Haan returned late in the off-season with a chance to compete for a bottom-pairing position.
Signing the former Cane to an $850,000 one-year deal was worth the risk for Don Waddell and the company.
De Haan had proven to the organization that he was a team player and at the very least would not rock the boat if playing time was an issue.