One of the biggest question marks for the Carolina Hurricanes after Victor Rask’s injury ruled him out for an extended period of time was the depth down the middle - or, more specifically, the lack of depth - in this Hurricanes lineup. Coming of camp Jordan Staal was really the only tried-and-true NHL center on the active roster, and it’s been evident for years that overslotting Staal in a top line scoring role is counterproductive for both his offensive numbers and his (criminally underrated) defensive game.
The development or acquisition of a future top line center in Raleigh has long been comparable to Captain Ahab’s endless search for his white whale.