The Carolina Hurricanes entered this season with cautious expectations. Most fans felt that as long as they were competitive, it would be a successful year, given the transition to youth. This expectation was tossed to the side by some, as the Canes got off to an improbable 2-0 start in Finland. Some fans, ignoring the fact that the Minnesota Wild are horribly mediocre, and the Canes beat them with pretty unspectacular efforts, got excited. That's ok...that is the nature of being a fan.

Since coming back from Finland, the Canes have now incurred 2 losses, evening their record to 2-2. And neither of the games were really close, even though the Senators game ended with a goal differential. In both cases, the Canes were outplayed, and showed the signs of a young team. Bad undisciplined penalties....Horrible defensive breakdowns (of course you expect this of McBain and even Babchuk, but not of Pitkanen or Corvo)....these are typical of young teams learning what their identity is.

There have been two bright spots, though...goaltending and young forwards. Ward, while sporting a 2.95 GAA, has been good. One could argue that given a defense that doesn't have the mental lapses that the Canes have shown, would put Ward in the upper tier from a stats perspective in the league.

From the forward perspective it has been fun to watch guys like Skinner and Bowman, and to a lesser extent, Dalpe, begin their careers at this level. They bring an energy that was sorely missed on the Canes last year, and will help carry this team in the future.

The question at this point though is not whether the Canes will make the playoffs....as that is unlikely. The division is markedly better than in the past, and the Canes appear to have quite a bit of maturation they need to go through to get to being a playoff caliber team. The question is what to do about Jeff Skinner. After 4 games, Skinner has shown that he can play at the NHL level. His creativity with the puck and shooting ability have him rightly pegged to be a key cog for the Canes for years to come. But is it wise to blow the first year of his entry level contract on a rebuilding year? Being a team that has to operate with a budget it could be argued that it is in the Canes best interests, to send Skinner back to Juniors after the first 10 games. On the flip side, how much more development can Skinner really get in a league that he has already dominated?

Either way, watching the Canes this year will be alot like last year...inconsistent play, and not many winning streaks...but unlike last year, pieces of the future will be the focal point, which should make for a much more exciting product.