Tweetmail: What is the Canes' Magic Number?

Hello and welcome to Tweetmail presented by Segra. This is a regular feature on Hurricanes.com in which I answer your Twitter questions, which are mostly about the Carolina Hurricanes, but sometimes also about travel or television or life. It's a mailbag of tweets. It's Tweetmail. Maybe you learn a little something, and maybe we have some fun, too.
Let's get to it.

What is the magic number for the Hurricanes to lock up a playoff spot? - @RiskyBusinessLM
Lucky number 13.
Chicago, currently in fifth place, can obtain a maximum of 69 points (nice). In that case, since the Canes have 60 points already, the magic number would be 10. But since there's such a disparity in games played this season, we have to look at Dallas, too. The Stars can obtain a maximum of 72 points, so the Canes' magic number is 13.
What do you think we need to see from the Canes in the next couple of weeks in order for them to be a contender? - @AddieCSmith
I think we've already seen it, right?
With their win on Thursday night, the Canes improved to 28-10-4. The 60 points ties the franchise record for the most points through the first 42 games of a season. You can probably guess what that other season was. The Canes' .714 points percentage is tied with Vegas for the second-highest in the league behind only Colorado (.744).
I think 42 game is a large enough sample size - Eric Tulsky can @ me if I'm off base here - to declare that the Canes are indeed very good and a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
One thing that would help, though? Getting Teuvo Teravainen back in the lineup. If practice on Friday is any indication, that's coming soon.

"I don't want to jinx it, that's for sure. It's a good sign that he's actually with us and practicing with no restrictions," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after Teravainen's return to practice on Friday. "It's definitely a positive sign."
When do you expect extensions for Dougie, Svech and the coach to get finalized? - @lh8theriders
I wouldn't expect to hear much on new contracts for Dougie Hamilton, a pending unrestricted free agent, and Andrei Svechnikov, a restricted free agent, until after the season.
This is from
my most recent chat
with Canes President and General Manager Don Waddell: "We'll deal with both of those guys in the offseason. I talked with Dougie's agent, and we agreed to let him play hockey. We're in the same boat there. We want Dougie. He's got a good fit here, and he wants to be here. He's also going to be a UFA. We'll deal with that at the end of the year, and we're hoping that we're obviously able to keep him. Svech, we talked earlier and kind of just put it on hold. At this point of the year, there's no reason to get to it in April. That's another contract we'll get done this summer."
The same might be true for Rod Brind'Amour, but there doesn't seem to be much concern with getting a deal signed.
"We've talked. With the way the schedule has been, we kind of don't want to talk about it every day. I think we have a framework that's real close,"
Waddell said
. "He's not a guy who's worried about it getting done, and we're not worried about it getting done. We all feel it's going to get done in time. It's just a matter of when that time is."
Any word about realignment next season or is the plan to use the divisions as established with the Seattle announcement? - @gdizz79
The NHL will return to its Metropolitan, Atlantic, Central and Pacific Division alignments for the 2021-22 season, assuming, of course, that we've reached some sense of normalcy again and there are no travel restrictions at the border between the United States and Canada. The Seattle Kraken will play in the Pacific Division, and the Arizona Coyotes will move to the Central. The Canes will, of course, be back in the Metro Division.
Though, if I'm being honest, I'll miss the realigned Central. It's been a nice change of pace. Long live the Southeast Division!
Are we ever going to get our outdoor game back? - @B\_Low\_
Yes,
it will be rescheduled
for some point in the near future. I would have to think a lot of the 2021-22 schedule is still to be determined, and I'm sure the Winter Classic and Stadium Series are a part of that puzzle that is still very much a work in progress.
What is your favorite Haydn Fleury moment, and what are you excited for him to do in Anaheim? - @leholmes52
My favorite moment of his has to be when he scored his first NHL goal, which was, coincidentally, in Anaheim. It had been a long time coming, and to see the puck finally go in (against Ryan Miller, no less!) was a relief for him. It was a fun night, and
this was a fun story to pen
. I look forward to him doing this more in Anaheim, only this time for the Ducks.
Join me next Friday for more questions and more answers!
If you have a question you'd like answered or you're also digging the old Southeast Division vibes, you can find me on Twitter at
@MSmithCanes
, or you can
drop me an email
.