According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, “The Hurricanes are all over the market” and “It seems like the Hurricanes are pretty much in on everybody.” A team that wants to make sure they are giving themselves the best chance to win this season, Pagnotta reports the Hurricanes want to know which other teams are going after certain players and what the price tag is to acquire the players generating the most interest.
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Pagnotta acknowledges that the Hurricanes don’t have a ton of cap space (just under $1.8 million), so any deal they make is most likely to be a contract-in, contract-out move, but he adds that’s not stopping GM Don Waddell from kicking tires on some of the bigger names potentially available this season, including Arizona Coyotes star Jakob Chychrun and Dallas Stars blueliner John Klingberg.
Could the Hurricanes be a surprise player this season? They’re certainly in the postseason mix, sitting first in the Metropolitan Division with a 24-7-2 record. But, can they find a way to navigate the salary cap to add a player or players that would help?
Hurricanes Need to Be Careful They Don’t Shoot Themselves in the Foot
Like the Tampa Bay Lightning — who admitted they don’t think they’ll be terribly active because they like their roster and making a move might not actually improve the team — the Hurricanes will have to figure out if subtracting to add is actually producing a net-positive result. It makes no sense to take someone off the roster who is providing good production and a nice value, just for the sake of adding a player and giving up assets to do so.
There are a few contracts on their roster that one might consider questionable, including a defenseman or two, Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s or Jordan Staal’s. The question will be, can the Hurricanes find a taker or would these players want to move? Some of them have no-move clauses or modified no-trade deals.
Next: 5 Most Likely Trade Destinations for Stars’ John Klingberg
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