Carolina Hurricanes: 5 players to trade for that would make a Happy Holiday

Trade rumors do not run heavy during the holiday break in the NHL. But, here’s five players that the Carolina Hurricanes could look at.

The Carolina Hurricanes have a host of positive takeaways as we are in the thick of the holiday break. Winning five of the last six games, the Canes gained on some of the teams higher up in the Metropolitan Division, and stayed in clear contention for a wildcard spot.

Whenever the Canes have made a good playoff run, the front office had enough trust in the team to make a big splash in the trade market. In 2006, the Canes brought in players like future NHL Hall of Famers Mark Recchi and Doug Weight. In 2009, the team brought in Patrick O’Sullivan, Jussi Jokinen, and re-acquired Erik Cole. Both Jokinen and Cole were significant contributors for the Canes on offense during the 2009 run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Obviously, in 2006, Recchi and Weight were huge pieces in the Stanley Cup winning squad. Now, Carolina is in contention for a playoff spot in the East and within striking distance of the top teams in the Metro, and it’s only December. One thing that plagued the Canes during this long playoff drought is slow starts.

Seeing head coach Bill Peters lead the team to a 39 point start through 35 games is a welcome sight for this franchise. Peters is still on the hot seat, but showing why he could be a promising option as a head coach. The time is now for general manager Ron Francis to make a move.

With the roster freeze ending soon across the league, some trades could happen very soon. Here’s a look at five players the Carolina Hurricanes could trade for that would make for a Happy Holiday for fans.

Landing a true superstar would be an immeasurable impact for the Canes. While the defense has a ton of young talent to boot, there’s nothing that can measure up to a defenseman that is truly at the top of the game right now.

That is exactly what Carolina would get out of Ottawa Senators defender Erik Karlsson. In Karlsson, the Canes would get their best skater on the team, best shooter from the blue line, and recent playoff experience to help out in the locker room.

This team is lacking in overall experience, and that can be seen in the product that’s put out on the ice from time to time. And, much like Ekman-Larsson, Karlsson would take a ton of pieces for the Canes to move to bring him over to Raleigh.

It might not be worth all the pieces it would take to land Karlsson. But, any place he could go would love to have him. No team is going through more controversy than the Senators at this moment. Moving Karlsson in the blink of an eye is a likely possibility in the coming weeks.

No player on the trade block in the NHL right now could be a bigger get for the Canes than Edmonton Oilers star center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The former first overall pick of Edmonton is on pace to have another great season.

However, a good portion of the league is after Nugent-Hopkins and he’ll be a hot name mentioned around the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. That is if the Oilers have not dealt him already. Part of this rumors has to do with the unexpected struggles the Oilers had to start the year.

If the Oilers start to get things going, Nugent-Hopkins becomes a very valuable piece to them. But, he cannot maximize his spotlight in Edmonton. There’s just too much young talent on a team that is still trying to find its identity in 2017-18.

Adding a first line center, to replace Jordan Staal and/or Victor Rask as the top option, like Nugent-Hopkins is a crazy thought for the Canes. The amount of scoring ability on the wings between Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, and Jeff Skinner needs a quality center to connect it all together.

The appeal of someone like Evander Kane does not come from a huge positional need for the Canes. Left wing is actually the most stacked position of any forward group that Carolina has on the roster.

Yet, Kane brings something else to the table that the Canes do not have on offense, and that’s his grit. The three primary scorers from the wings, Teravainen, Aho, Skinner, and Justin Williams don’t possess the same power forward ability as Kane does.

As far as power forwards go in the NHL, there will not be anything better available this season than Kane. And, the Sabres should not command too high of an asking price. Buffalo is in complete rebuilding mode and their return for Kane will reflect that.

On pace for nearly 40 goals this season, Kane would inject a huge boost into the Carolina attack. The Canes would need a shake up on the wings and improved production from the centers, but Kane is a real possibility for this team. Carolina is in a much better position to contend than the Sabres will be anytime soon.

This trade idea is more of a hypothetical than a reality at this point. A big part of the St. Louis Blues blue line now is Carl Gunnarsson. While Gunnarsson’s name appeared in quite a few trade rumors two years ago, there’s not so many now.

The blue line for the Canes does not have much of a physical aspect to it right now, or a lot of players that are on the good side in the plus/minus department. In fact, Trevor van Riemsdyk is the only member of Carolina’s defense that is in the positive of plus/minus.

At a +11, van Riemsdyk is somewhat of an anomaly this season. His defensive partner for most of the season, Noah Hanifin (who also leads all defenders on the team in points with 19), is a -3. However, Gunnarsson is a +13 this season. He’s seen that type of number in the plus/minus department for five of the past six seasons as well.

Next: Carolina Hurricanes: Every takeaway to know before Christmas

St. Louis is in need of a top six forward and the Canes have the resources to deliver for them. Throwing in Rask, Derek Ryan, and a draft pick might be able to land a player like Gunnarsson. Moreover, Gunnarsson is a player that could stick around Raleigh for a few years. It’s an idea that could serve as more of a template for a big need for this team, not something that will actually become a reality.