Carolina Hurricanes Should Consider Gutting Lineup, Starting to Rebuild

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished last in the Atlantic Division for four consecutive years between 2002 and 2006, winning 28 or fewer of their 82 total games every time.

As a result, the Penguins received a top-five pick in all five drafts during the same time span. Their five selections, in order: Ryan Whitney (eventually traded for Chris Kunitz) in 2002, Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003, Evgeni Malkin in 2004, Sidney Crosby in 2005 and Jordan Staal in 2006.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

In 2007, the Pens made their first playoff appearance in five seasons.

They haven't missed it since, accumulating one Stanley Cup ring, two Eastern Conference titles and three Conference Finals appearances along the way.

Such a perfect example of the parity-facilitating system used in North American professional sports—a system meant to help bottom-feeding teams move to the top, but inadvertently ignorant to the plight of merely below-average teams.

The Carolina Hurricanes have missed the playoffs for five consecutive years, a fact very well known by all who follow the team. It's a curse the 'Canes can't seem to shake, a cyclone of mediocrity hovering motionless over Raleigh.

But it's not a cyclone of complete failure. And that's the problem.

The 'Canes have never picked higher than fifth in the draft during their postseason drought, and their 2013 choice with the pick—Elias Lindholm—hasn't yet lived up to top-five billing. A No. 7 pick was used very successfully on Jeff Skinner, a No. 8 pick was dealt brashly to the aforementioned Penguins for the aforementioned Jordan Staal, and the other two brought defensemen Ryan Murphy and Haydn Fleury into the system.

Carolina's five-year bounty of consolation prizes doesn't remotely compare to Pittsburgh's haul from a decade ago.

Simply put, the 'Canes don't suck enough.

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

With zero wins in their first four games, Staal out until January or February with a broken leg, Skinner's career now in infinite jeopardy (due his third concussion in three years) and a first-year NHL head coach behind the bench, the Hurricanes do have a splendid opportunity to, at long last, really suck in 2014-15.

All it would take would be a bit of boldness from also-first-year general manager in Ron Francis. Deal a few star players for A-grade prospects and first-round picks and—voila!—the 'Canes might get to cherish a top-three selection next June.

USA TODAY Sports

Struggling and oft-criticized captain Eric Staal isn't likely to be the Hurricanes' captain too much longer, but he might not even be a Hurricane at all much longer. TSN's Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that the Rangers, Maple Leafs and Oilers may all have interest. 

Meanwhile, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote Wednesday that 2015 unrestricted free agent Andrej Sekera may also be attracting attention.

Add a now-healthy (albeit risky investment) Jeff Skinner to the trade block, and all the 'Canes could pull back an enormous sum of prospects and picks. After all, Dreger claimed that Staal alone could garner the likes of a first-round selection, Jake Gardiner and either Tyler Bozak or Nazem Kadri.

Is it worth it, though?

The new draft lottery odds are strikingly balanced; the club with the worst record now has a mere 20 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, while the No. 9 team, for example, has a five percent chance (almost double its chances last year). The recipient of the first selection in 2015 may need to be both terrible and lucky.

Moreover, fanbase morale—already a concern—could reach alarming levels if the 'Canes again fail to make the postseason this season. A 15th- or 16th-place finish could make it outright threatening. The long-term effects of full rebuilding may be worth it, but the Hurricanes need as many ticket sales and income as they can scrape out immediately.

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

As the 'Canes sputter along the dark, quiet, crumbling back roads of the NHL in the coming months, such is the conundrum that will confront Francis daily.

He's expected to diverge strongly from the lackluster indecision of the Jim Rutherford era and bring the Hurricanes back to the playoffs as soon as possible—but taking a risk in attempting to end the drought could, in the end, result in failure on both counts. On the other hand, a complete rebuilding could take so long that Francis is fired before the harvest, or work so ineffectively as to only hand-deliver the franchise's finances another half-decade deep in the red.

Francis and the Hurricanes should, at least, consider the 2002-2006 Penguins' strategy.

But is it worth it?

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.