Carolina Hurricanes Tickets

Carolina Hurricanes 2010-11 Season Preview After making the Eastern Conference finals in 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes came crashing down with a thud in 2010. They finished third in the division and 11th in the conference with a record under .500.

There were a number of reasons why a team that looked like a lock for the postseason didn't make it. The star goaltender was injured and inconsistent and the team opened up with one of the worst starts in the league.

It's never easy to play catch-up all season long, and a poor start is something the Hurricanes will look to avoid this year.

That all sounds good, but it doesn't help that financial woes caused the team to pass on signing any type of impact free agents over the summer. Instead, they let several players go via free agency and have turned to a youth movement.

Goalie Cam Ward will be asked to rebound from arguably the worst season of his career. As Ward goes, so go the Hurricanes. Or at least that's the plan being implemented by the higher-ups in the organization.

Ward's injury was pretty fluky last year, so I would be surprised if he didn't bounce back and have a strong season. With that said, there is a lack of talent in front of him, and it will be tough for the Hurricanes to get back to the postseason.