Will the captain return? Hurricanes exit with lingering questions

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The Hurricanes cleaned out their locker-room stalls as the hockey off-season officially began in Raleigh.

As always there are several roster decisions for management to make before fall camp.

Justin Williams is a big piece of the puzzle.

Mr. Game 7 completed his original mission of getting the Canes to the playoffs. Now, his contract is expiring and after almost two decades of hockey, Williams said he’ll take some time before making a decision to come back.

“Ultimately, it’s going to come down to a family decision and ultimately it’s coming down to me,” Williams said. “You can’t go 85 percent. You can’t go 90 percent. You’ve got to go all the way in if you’re going.”

Jaccob Slavin said he won’t put pressure on Williams but obviously they’d all love for him to return.

“I’m going to support him either way because it was a pleasure being under his leadership this year,” Slavin said.

Rising star Sebastian Aho is in line for a contract extension and his 30 regular season goals is reason enough for this to be the No. 1 goal for General Manager Don Waddell.

Aho got his first taste of the playoffs and leaves for his homeland of Finland motivated.

“We all know what it takes to first, get to the playoffs, go through a tough series,” Aho said. “Now, we are even more hungry.”