Yeah, I do think goal scoring is an issue as the roster is currently constructed. Carolina has mostly avoided the top heaviness that has infected the league in the cap era, but this summer's UFA losses have put a real dent in their balance up front. I think you could make a case that they've pretty much evened out expected point production on the defensive side of the roster, presuming Ghost and Walker can carry most of their recent form over to this system ... which isn't that big a stretch. But depending on how they line up on the forward lines, the general setup leans a LOT towards one proper scoring line supported by three different flavors of a more grind-it-out line. If you could honestly expect Necas to both play and produce here AND you could convince yourself that Kuznetsov could roll back the clock to even his 2021-22 form, then yeah ... you've got a secondary offensive line. Neither of those things seem realistic since Necas has one foot out the door and Kuznetsov is either cooked or danged close to it.
And even if they pull a rabbit out of the hat and trade Necas for affordable scoring help, the budget will only support so much expense. So, it's not likely to be some kind of sure thing impact player. They'll either be taking a chance on a developing player or taking a chance on somebody who's on the market because they're deeply flawed. Either way, what they probably need to produce more offense is another consistent play driving forward, and those are always hard to come by. We'll just have to see how it goes. Right now, this looks like an excellent defensive team that should be able to play Brind'Amour's grinding possession game pretty well. That might be enough to get them over the hump until this time next year when they have the opportunity for more of a positive roster churn, especially if Svech can step up and help turn that first line into something truly dangerous. Either way, this next season looks like a bit of a placeholder.