3 Potential Hurricanes X-Factors for the 2026-27 Season – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

As we head into the first weekend of September, there are only 25 days until opening night for the Carolina Hurricanes. The defending Stanley Cup champions, for the first time in 20 years, will be the defenders, not the chasers. That said, as we’re less than a month away from the start of the 2026-27 season, what are three potential X-Factors for the Hurricanes to possibly repeat as champions?

1. Penalty Kill Returns to Top 3 Form

Over the last few seasons, the Hurricanes finished in the top three regarding the penalty kill. However, during the 2025-26 season, they finished 11th in the NHL with an 80.5%, only .3 short of tying the New York Islanders, who finished 10th with an 80.8%.

Granted, the Hurricanes did not have Jaccob Slavin for most of the season, as he only played in 39 regular-season games due to a lower-body injury. For most of the season, they were around the 20 to 15 mark on the penalty kill. However, once Slavin was back in the lineup, it started to creep up around the top 10.

Thankfully for the Hurricanes, Slavin should be 100% by the time the season begins on Sept. 29 against the Florida Panthers. While it’s not all on him alone, having Slavin on the penalty kill will go a long way. If those two units can start on the right foot, get back inside the top three on the penalty kill, and the power play can go top 10 again like last season, the Hurricanes could be dangerous on the special teams.

2. Jackson Blake Continues on Path to Stardom

After finishing his rookie season with 17 goals and 34 points, Jackson Blake had a breakout sophomore year in 2025-26. In his second season in the NHL, he had 22 goals and 53 points in 81 games. Blake then followed that up with 13 assists and 20 points in the playoffs, leading the team. Heading into his third season, Blake will be showing why he earned that eight-year, $40.94 million deal last summer.

The $5.117 million average annual value (AAV) is already considered a steal for the Hurricanes, especially after the season he had. Some think Blake could be a star in the making, but honestly, there is an argument that he is already a star player. Before the preseason last season, Blake told The Hockey Writers that his mindset is to get better as a player. Safe to say he has done that, especially as a Stanley Cup champion at 22 years old.

If he can continue his upward trajectory, who says he cannot finish with 60 to 70 points this upcoming season? If the Hurricanes start him with Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall, which was the best line on the team last season, there is no telling where that line can go. They were the hottest line in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If they continue right where they left off, watch out for Blake to have an even better third season in the NHL.

3. Tandem of Bussi & Kochetkov Holds Down the Fort in Goal

As it stands on Friday, Sept. 4, the Hurricanes could be rolling into the 2026-27 season with the goalie tandem of Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov. While there are rumors that the Hurricanes could be interested in Connor Hellebuyck, sticking with those two makes sense.

Bussi finished with a 31-6-2 record with a 2.47 goals-against average (GAA), a .895 save percentage (SV%), and two shutouts. He followed up a storybook regular season with a 3-1-0 record, a 1.60 GAA, a .931 SV%, and one shutout in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He went on to win his first three Stanley Cup games in his first three starts. It’s hard to fluke into 31 wins, especially in his first NHL season.

Bussi will enter the first season of his three-year, $5.7 million deal with the hope that he continues his upward trajectory within the organization. Heading into the season, he is considered the 1A in the tandem with Kochetkov, who missed most of last season due to hip surgery.

Regarding Kochetkov, he finished the 2025-26 season with a 6-2-0 record following eight starts in nine games played. He had a 2.33 GAA, an .899 SV%, and one shutout. Kochetkov is entering the final year of his four-year, $8 million deal, which will be interesting to see how the 27-year-old Russian netminder does in a contract year. 

Kochetkov has won a combined 56 games in three seasons. Plus, his worst GAA in a season is 2.60 (2024-25), while his best is 2.33 (2023-24 and 2025-26). He has shown that when healthy, he can hold it down in the crease for the Hurricanes.

While the 2026-27 season is a complete unknown for the Hurricanes and the rest of the league, if they can have these three X-Factors work out, the sky’s the limit for the defending champions. Even if a small combination of these manages to come to fruition, the Hurricanes could be in for another solid season and another deep playoff run. When it comes down to it, the Hurricanes will be looking to defend their Stanley Cup title and are determined to win it again for a third time in franchise history.