Trade for an offensive weapon
A Scott Darling trade probably won’t bring in any offensive help, but it may bring in assets that can help in a different trade. Its no secret that the Carolina Hurricanes’ troubles have come from a lack of scoring. Of the 24 games played so far this season, they have had trouble finding the back of the net more than once in eight of them. That’s an entire third of the games played so far this season. When the team has scored three or more goals they have gone 10-0-2. The race to three goals is real. It’s very real. The more the Canes do it, the less the goaltending issues mentioned earlier become an issue.
The issue now becomes who the Carolina Hurricanes can trade for, and what the team would have to give up to acquire said talent. The most frequently mentioned name in the trade rumor mill is William Nylander of course. The restricted free agent is still negotiating with the Toronto Maple Leafs while skating with a junior team in Sweden. With the December 1st deadline for the RFA to sign or miss the rest of the season only days away, many wonder who will blink first in this unprecedented standoff. If the Leafs decide to trade the rights to Nylander away, Carolina could be the first to come calling for the center. The most realistic ask that Carolina might agree to is either Brett Pesce or Justin Faulk along with a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.
Other possible trade bait that might help add scoring depth to the Carolina Hurricanes include the Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist and Charles Hudon of the Montreal Canadiens. These are players that would be able to immediately produce with the Canes. The return for any of these players would most likely be in the form of a mixture of prospects, draft picks, and up-and-coming 3rd or 4th liners like Valentin Zykov.
Whether the Carolina Hurricanes trade for Nylander before the end of the month, or pick up a rental between now and the trade deadline additions to the offense, especially to support the top six, are needed to get this team into the playoffs. The pressure to score goals cannot all be squared on the shoulders of Sebastian Aho and his line.