The Carolina Hurricanes have shown interest in San Jose Sharks’ Brenden Dillon, but should a trade happen for the Defender?
The Carolina Hurricanes are still reeling from the loss of Dougie Hamilton to an extreme injury for the rest of the season and have opened themselves up to improving their defensive core once again through a trade. The latest rumors have noted that the Hurricanes are one of several teams that have thrown their name in the ring for San Jose Sharks defender Brenden Dillon.
While there aren’t any more details on what the Carolina Hurricanes would give up to receive the 29 year old veteran defender, lets take a look at what he could bring to the team and if he would truly be an upgrade on what already exists.
Brenden Dillon is now in his sixth season with the San Jose Sharks after being traded from the Dallas Stars before the deadline in the 2011-2012 season. Before that He was on and off with the Stars for three seasons being moved up and down the AHL having only played a full season with the big club team.
While he is a good puck moving solid defender he isn’t going to score many goals and will not, cannot, be expected to replace Dougie Hamilton’s scoring. In fact his season high is only six goals and that happened during his single full season with the Dallas Stars. Since then he has struggled to bring his numbers close to that having done so once with five goals for the Sharks in the 17-18 season.
What he is good at is passing and playing solid in his own zone. While not getting much in the term of time on ice he has been consistent in the last few seasons with assists on his teammates goals and has gotten better. Last season saw his career high 21 assists which helped him once again match his career high 22 points which he set the previous season.
Dillon also set a career high +19 rating last season as well as his defensive prowess helped the Sharks move on to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is doubly impressive considering he was playing in front of perhaps one of the worst goaltending duos in the league in Aaron Dell and Martin Jones. While these numbers are somewhat impressive would he be an asset to the Hurricanes?
The short answer is yes. While he is a good defender that can play in the third and perhaps even the second pairing he will not serve to bring back the defensive core to what it was with Dougie Hamilton. Quite honestly, there might not even be any such defender available in the league.
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But what would be a fair return for the defender?
The San Jose Sharks are not a looking like a repeating playoff team this season. The woes of goaltending has caught up with them as their roster continues to age. What they need is some youth for their future. But the Hurricanes are also looking to keep the economic impact cap space wise to a minimum.
A trade for Dillon would require some assets that the Sharks can look forward to using in the future but would also require the Sharks to retain some of his salary. Perhaps Trevor Van Riemsdyk can also be a part of the move to help relieve the Hurricanes of cap space for another trade by the deadline. But none of this will come cheap to the Hurricanes.
Luckily the Hurricanes have plenty of draft picks and perhaps one of the deepest defensive pools in the league. Perhaps a 3rd round draft pick along with Roland McKeown or Jesper Sellgren can entice the Sharks to take on Van Riemsdyk’s contract. Dillon would be an excellent upgrade from Trevor in the third pairing with Haydn Fleury.
Who knows how Serious Don Waddell and Hurricanes are in trying to acquire Brenden Dillon for the Sharks, but they are trying to ensure that this iteration of the Canes is better suited for a deep playoff run come summer.
Question For CC Readers: Would you make the trade for Brenden Dillon if you were Canes GM?