With the signing of David Backes the Boston Bruins now have over $20 million per season going to centers. Bergeron is the best center on the team, which leaves David Krejci as the odd man out.
On Tuesday Sports Illustrated posted that the Boston Bruins are shopping Krejci and named the Carolina Hurrianes as a possible landing spot for the Czech center. The Bruins are thin on the blue line and the Canes are packed with young blue line talent so it makes sense.
Too Many Defensemen Not Enough Roster Spots
With the Carolina Hurricanes drafting Jake Bean in the first round of this year’s draft a young defensive corp got even more crowded. The Canes already have Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin that are all starting in the NHL that are 24 years old or younger.
Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown are now knocking on the door after very successful years in the minors, both with the ability to break through this season. On top of all of these players Ryan Murphy, who was selected 12th overall in 2011 is an RFA this season and would be a pretty big loss if he does not re-sign this off season.
That makes eight defensemen under the age of 24 with realistic NHL potential and only six roster spots. Sure not all of them are ready, but sooner than later they will all be playing at the NHL level.
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The Carolina Hurricanes have to make decisions on which defensemen they want to keep and who they want to develop. Murphy leaving for no return would be a worst case scenario for the team, that definitely has weaknesses that need to be addressed.
The only players that would be untouchable in this deal are Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin, who will be the top defensive pairing for the next decade. Pesce, Slavin, McKeown, or Fleury would all be more likely to be moved. This isn’t because they are bad players, but because they’re not franchise players. All options should be on the table when looking to deal surplus.
Use the Surplus to Address the Deficit
The Carolina Hurricanes can take their surplus and trade it for veteran scoring players. These players will not only help win games with scoring, but will help develop the younger players around them and settle them down in frantic scenarios.
Krejci is 30 years old and is a proven scorer. In nine NHL seasons he has scored at least 50 points in all but three of them. Two of the three seasons he scored under 50 points were shortened due to injury.
The 2015-2016 season was his third best in his professional career with 63 points (17g, 46a). He also ranked 30th in points/60 with 2.59. He is a possession neutral player with a 50.1 Corsi For Percentage.
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Krejci could plug into the Carolina Hurricanes top six very easily. The only other centerman with significant minutes on the team is Jordan Staal, who played well with Nestrasil and Nordstrom last year. Krejci could plug in with Jeff Skinner and Lee Stempniak or a combination of Rask/Lindholm/Teravainen/Aho depending on who Peters uses as the third line Center.
The final piece that makes Carolina a great trading partner is cap space. Krejci carries a $7.25 mil per year cap hit. The Hurricanes are one of the few teams who could take on this amount of cap without having to ship a significant amount of cap in return.
Potential Roadblocks
The biggest issue with the trade is that Krejci currently has a full no move clause. Convincing a player to waive a no move clause can be difficult for any team, let alone a small market team that is rebuilding and not a realistic cup contender.
However the players who have joined the Canes in free agency have cited optimism for the future and what Francis has been building. Krejci is signed through 2021 so if he is traded to Carolina he could be part of the build and the success of the team when it comes. It’s not an easy sell, but if he values building a team and being a top six forward, the Carolina Hurricanes could be a good team for him to waive his no move clause for.
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It can be easy to get caught up in trade rumors, but this one does make a good amount of sense. It’s always fun to see trades made, but this one could also really help the Hurricanes win sooner and make the playoffs in the 2016-2017 season.