Carolina Hurricanes: 3 potential trades with the Flyers
Option 3: Taking on a bad deal
Jakub Voracek is a veteran playmaker on a overpaid contract. Now 29 years old, his $8.25m AAV deal expires at the end of the 2023/24 season, when he will be 34 years old. He is a consistent 20-goal, 50-assist forward; the knock against him is that he needs quality players alongside him. But then, who doesn’t? In the same way that Gostisbehere falls victim to the ire of some Flyers fans, Voracek regularly gets taken to task for his on-ice transgressions in a way that few of his team mates do.
In acquiring Voracek, the Carolina Hurricanes add a second bonafide top six forward – after already acquiring Nino Niederreiter from the Minnesota Wild – and one able to score at a consistent click, a considerable improvement on Lucas Wallmark‘s current production level. The acquisition would also shelter Andrei Svechnikov, as Niederreiter and Voracek would take the lion’s share of tough matchups, and would also improve the Canes’ power play options.
Here’s how the Carolina Hurricanes would lineup with Voracek in the team; Wallmark departing would see either Greg McKegg or Jordan Staal move into the top six, and only one of those is a realistic option:
Teravainen – Aho – Niederreiter
Ferland – Staal – Voracek
Would the Flyers make this deal? They would escape Voracek’s deal, add two promising youngsters to their collection, and a useful 2nd round pick next year. All would depend on how much Chuck Fletcher wants to change – this would send quite the message to the rest of the Flyers’ lineup.
Likelihood: 2/5
Next. How the Canes can make the playoffs. dark
Any of these deals helps the Carolina Hurricanes move forward – what’s not particularly clear is why the Philadelphia Flyers would consider large-scale changes, when surely just a few small tweaks would suffice. Don Waddell didn’t make any moves with the St Louis Blues when they announced a similar plan – but we feel that with the Canes so close to a playoff spot, now is the time to be bold. Make the Carolina Hurricanes buyers, ahead of the deadline, and get this team over the line into the post-season.