Talk of the town

The Canes and the NHL Trade Deadline

By Erin Manning

Trade deadline season is upon us again, and this year the Carolina Hurricanes are the talk of the town. Some of the conversations about what the Canes will or won’t do have reached absurd levels, as the pundits speculate about the moves Eric Tulsky and the Canes might make. But, realistically, what kinds of moves are the Canes likely to make before the deadline? And–maybe more importantly–what are the things they more than likely won’t do? Let’s start there.

What the Hurricanes won’t do

Canes won’t flip Mikko Rantanen

It’s not unusual for the Carolina Hurricanes to be in the midst of all the rumors that start swirling around this close to the NHL’s trade deadline. What is unusual is that the Canes have already made their big trade, which involved sending Martin Necas and Jack Drury to the Colorado Avalanche for superstar winger Mikko Rantanen. You’d think that move would keep Rantanen out of further rumors, but with no contract extension in place as of yet there’s been a lot of chatter about whether the Canes would flip Rantanen at the deadline rather than lose him in free agency.

Reports that a mind-bogglingly huge contract offer has already been made have started to quiet those rumors, and the reality is that the Canes are highly unlikely to give Rantanen an ultimatum when he’s barely played for the team yet. They will want to give him plenty of time to make a decision, and I think we should expect Rantanen to remain in a Hurricanes’ sweater through the playoffs regardless of whether or not he signs before March 7.

The professional hockey pundits love to speculate about the Hurricanes trading Rantanen for whatever they could get from such a move as the alternative to risking losing the talented player for not much of anything, pointing to the Guentzel situation last summer. But the Canes are in an entirely different position with Rantanen–they can afford to give him a huge contract and they aren’t trying to negotiate with multiple UFAs at the same time. It’s unlikely any contenders out there can beat Carolina’s rumored offer. Giving Mikko Rantanen all the time he needs to make a decision, and gearing up for a playoff run that will feature his skills, is a no-brainer.

Canes won’t include Nikishin in any trades

Hard to believe we have to say this again after last summer, but no: the Carolina Hurricanes are not going to include their absolute top prospect, KHL star defenseman Alexander Nikishin, in any trades that might actually have a chance of happening (for instance, we know nobody’s off the table if McDavid was available, etc., but we’re talking about realistic deadline trades here). Nobody’s getting Nikishin in exchange for their pending UFAs or superfluous mid-6 centers. It’s not happening.

Not only is Nikishin an incredible player, but the Canes’ organization has been waiting years for his present KHL contract to expire, which it finally will do at the end of this current season. Canes fans eagerly await Nikishin’s arrival in Raleigh and can’t wait to see him don a Carolina Hurricanes sweater for the first time. There is simply no way this player gets moved, because the Canes know what they have here and aren’t going to be foolish.

Canes won’t stand pat

Oddly enough, there are a few voices out there speculating that the Canes might be done making trades after the Rantanen deal and will try to get by with the personnel they have. To me it seems obvious that at least one small move, and possibly more than one, will happen; it’s hard to imagine the Canes doing nothing in regards to trades between now and March 7.

What the Hurricanes might do

Acquire a Depth Defenceman

You can file this under “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” but just as most contending teams do go out and get a sturdy defenseman to be 7th D if they don’t already have one, the Canes are likely to do the same. As of right now I’m not entirely sure which of the many such players likely to be available the Canes will target, but that’s largely because some teams on the cusp of making the playoffs will be waiting right up until the last minute to decide to sell.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter very much who this player is, so long as he’s someone the Canes think will fit their system and culture. It won’t be a very exciting trade deadline move, but sometimes these are the moves that end up being more important than we might think at the time.

Add depth at center

I almost included “add a second-line center” to the list of things the Canes’ won’t do during the deadline. It’s not because they don’t need one–they do–but players of this kind are rarely deadline adds. Is it impossible for the Canes to find an available 2C before March 7? No, but it’s somewhat unlikely.

What’s not unlikely is the Canes making a trade for a fourth-line center, particularly one they think could help them in the playoffs. They’d prefer a right-shot C in that position, because Aho, Kotkaniemi and Staal are all left shots. There are several intriguing possibilities, but a deal for this type of player will largely depend on who’s available at a reasonable cost.

Keep an eye on goaltending

The Canes will most likely not pick up any extra goalies at the deadline. With Andersen back and Kochetkov playing well they are most likely to continue with this tandem, trusting their depth in Chicago to be available in case of any emergencies. But that doesn’t mean the Canes aren’t watching the market closely; Andersen is a UFA, and while a pre-deadline trade is unlikely the Canes are going to want to collect information about some possibly-available goalies and what the price tags may be before the offseason begins.

When do we like our group?

In past seasons, Canes’ fans were often annoyed by the team making a few small moves (if any) and then announcing that “We like our group.” This year, though, the big, splashy trade has already happened, and though it’s exciting to speculate about more pizazz before the deadline, it’s not very realistic that some other huge move will happen–especially since the Canes are waiting for Rantanen to make a decision and potentially sign a major contract.

I think that any or all of the moves I’m guessing at above might happen before the Canes reach the “We like our group” moment. It’s always possible that a little more will happen, too–perhaps the Canes add an extra bottom-six winger if it looks like Carrier won’t return for the playoffs, for example. But in terms of where the Canes are right now, I think they might be closer to the “We like our group” statement than some pundits may think. We’ll see!