Carolina Hurricanes: Could the Penguins be a Trade Partner?

A name that has popped up in trade talks is Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel. We take a look at what the Carolina Hurricanes would need to give up in order to land the three-time all-star and where he would help the Canes.

The Carolina Hurricanes have a lot to address this offseason. Sebastian Aho will become a restricted free agent on July 1, if the Hurricanes don’t sign him to an extension sooner. Both Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney are becoming unrestricted free agents, meaning the Hurricanes will have to address the goalie position again this offseason. There is also the question of Hurricanes captain Justin Williams and his future with the team.

Despite all of the in-house signings the Hurricanes need to cover, they are in a good spot to land a player via trade in the offseason. But why should they consider a player like Phil Kessel?

Kessel would be a great addition to the top six forwards on the Hurricanes. He has had 20-plus goals in each season since 2008-09. He has had 30-plus assists since 2010-11 with a huge spike in the last two seasons with 58 and 55. Last year he was a point a game player (82 games, 82 points).

Where will Kessel’s goal scoring ability as well as his passing help the Hurricanes the most? The struggling power play. Out of Kessel’s 27 goals and 55 assists last season, 12 goals and 24 assists came on the power play. Those numbers would be number one in each category for the Hurricanes last season. The Hurricanes need a threat on the power play and Kessel would be a great addition to it.

In addition, there were parts of the season where the Hurricanes would dominate the shots on goal, but rarely got rewarded for it. This mainly happened at the beginning of last season, but the Hurricanes stuck to what they knew and saw the results. Adding Phil Kessel and having Nino Niederreiter for a full season could help the Hurricanes combat a slow start by giving the Hurricanes more players that can put the puck in the net.

Now what will the Hurricanes have to do in order to land the forward that seems to be on his way out of Pittsburgh?

The Hurricanes have a plethora of defenseman, especially right-handed defenseman. Justin Faulk has been in the center of trade talks for quite a while and makes the most sense for him to be moved, rather than Brett Pesce or Dougie Hamilton.

This isn’t anything against Faulk as he has done many great things for the Hurricanes, but over time his play has become inconsistent. At times he looks like his old self, offensively gifted with the ability to play solid defense, but he doesn’t show that he can do this day in and day out. It seems though if one of those things are off, then his game as a whole becomes less than ideal.

With the Hurricanes having the benefit of having a couple NHL ready defenseman in the system is that Faulk can be used as a trade asset. Jake Bean would be better suited to fill Faulk’s role on the team, but Haydn Fleury has shown he can play defense on the NHL level. The difference between Bean and Fleury is their play on offense where Bean is more gifted. Faulk was always known for his offense and that’s why Bean is a better suited replacement.

In order to land Kessel, the Hurricanes would send Justin Faulk and 2019 fourth round selection to the Penguins. The Hurricanes return would just be Phil Kessel. The Hurricanes do have draft capital to move, but the team shouldn’t go any more than a fourth-round selection if Faulk is also included.

Kessel can give the Hurricanes more offensive firepower, which has been something they have always needed. They added Niederreiter last year to make the offense stronger, why not try to go and make it even better. Use one of your strengths to strengthen other areas and that is exactly what the Carolina Hurricanes could do in this situation.

Question for CC Readers: How would you feel if the Carolina Hurricanes added Phil Kessel?