Where do the Carolina Hurricanes go from here?

Here’s something I’m going to say again in a few days: Your roster might be really good, but in this season, there’s just not enough space for all the fun, exciting teams in the league to make it as deep into the playoffs as you probably deserve.

So it is with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had the misfortune of drawing the reigning Stanley Cup champions — playing at full, devastating power — in the second round of this post-season. Five games later, enjoy your summer. That’s just how it goes sometimes, even if the future remains bright.

But there are a decent number of questions the Hurricanes’ front office will have to answer this summer, as they have five pending restricted free agents, and seven pending unrestricted free agents. Among both groups, there are big names who have been critical