NHL.com
Hurricanes rank: 7
Previous rank: 8
"The Hurricanes finished 2019 with 54 regular-season wins, a Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers record for most wins in a calendar year. Forward Lucas Wallmark has points in seven straight games (four goals, five assists)."
NHL.com's power ranking system compiles top-16 lists from 13 staff writers in order to amalgamate a ranking consensus. Among these lists, the Canes ranked as high as 6 (Tim Campbell, Robert LaFlamme and Bill Price), as low as 13 (Adam Kimelman) and nearly all 7th (7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 9, 10, 10).
NBC Sports
Hurricanes rank: 10
Previous rank: 6
"The Dougie Hamilton Norris Trophy campaign needs a bigger PR department."
ESPN.com
Hurricanes rank: 7
Previous rank: 6
"The Canes have looked pretty dynamic thus far, despite lingering questions such as a rotating sixth defenseman spot and Erik Haula's health. The inevitable midseason return of 38-year-old Justin Williams, the former captain, could be the missing piece that makes this team into a true contender. Just listen to Willy."
Sportsnet
Hurricanes rank: 7
Previous rank: 7
"2019 in five words: Bunch of Jerks shock world."
The Athletic ($)
Hurricanes rank: 7
Previous rank: 6
"The Canes are one of the most dynamic teams in the NHL but need to get better, more consistent goaltending if they're going to be a real contender."
CBS Sports
Hurricanes rank: 10
Previous rank: 7
"New Year's Resolution: Make sure everyone knows just how good of a season Dougie Hamilton is having and also ensure that Andrei Svechnikov doesn't try to go pro in lacrosse."
Yahoo! Sports
Hurricanes rank: 9
Previous rank: 7
"Wouldn't mind it at all if they made a trade from that deep D corps for some forward help, but we've been saying that for a while, eh?"
