Carolina Hurricanes: Standing Pat at the Deadline?

With the trade deadline looming, will the Carolina Hurricanes be better off standing pat once again this season?

In the past couple of weeks, the Carolina Hurricanes have been linked to names like Jonas Brodin, Alec Martinez, Brenden Dillon, Dylan DeMelo, Robin Lehner, among others. While a solid argument can be made to bring in any one of these players for the stretch run, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll guarantee post season success, or even a post season birth.

Now, we’ve already gone into a fair amount of detail on what possible trades for the aforementioned players could look like, glanced at potential lineup combinations, likelihood of a deal, etc. in several other articles, so now let’s take a look at the impact of standing pat at the deadline.

Arguably the most important thing any general manager has to consider when making a deal at the the trade deadline is team chemistry and moral. Something that can dramatically influence the outcome of a season, it is vitally important to ensure that any player brought in fits into the organization’s pre-established culture.

The locker room dynamic can be a tricky thing, and if not addressed properly, could end up having a negative impact for a team down the stretch and into the playoffs. Every year we see a handful of teams shell out draft picks and prospects for players that very rarely impact the team’s success. Often the rental players acquired at or around the deadline just play more depth roles and offer injury insurance.

Top teams are almost always built from drafting and developing their own players with “rentals” or free agents filling out the roster. During the regular season these “homegrown” talents are the ones that do all the “heavy lifting” to put their organizations in playoff contention. Some say that when contenders look to add a player or two at the deadline it illustrates the confidence ownership and upper management has in guys in the room, but isn’t that a bit contradicting?

If management is so confident in the players already on the roster to get it done, why even bother wasting assets to bring in someone who may or may not put your team over the edge? Why impact your franchise for the long haul if the players have done more than enough during the regular season?

The answer is simple, the draw of the Stanley Cup. Being the lone team atop the entire NHL when it is all said and done, league wide recognition. The desire to win and competitive nature of not only the players on the ice, but the owners and general managers league wide, often leads them to making rash decisions around the deadline.

Any move made is not only an attempt to increase one’s own chances of winning, by adding additional quality assets to their NHL roster in the now, but the opportunity to block opposing team’s from closing the gap is too good to pass up. Because of this general managers are always making calls around this time of year.

It goes without saying that Tom Dundon and Don Waddell have done a good job at valuing their assets so far. If they don’t feel like a player is worth a certain value they’ve shown that they wont hesitate to move them for nice return or, in the case of a trade, look elsewhere for help.

The cost of any deadline deal is typically dependent on the sellers. With “rentals” pending UFA’s or RFA’s, they tend to come from teams well out of the playoff picture. These teams are looking to build for the future and are willing to more established players to do so.

When you look at how tight the playoff picture is this year the rental market is rather slim. In some divisions the difference between first and last is only a couple of points. Because of this teams are more than likely going to want to hold onto their pending UFA’s for their own playoff pushes. With a few clear cut sellers, and the number of teams calling on them, the cost may be a bit higher than what the rental player is actually worth.

The last thing a GM needs to look at is the fit. If you pull the trigger and bring in said player, where are they going to slot into your lineup? When you look at the way the Carolina Hurricanes are structured there isn’t a glaring hole when everyone is playing to their potential.

Upfront, since the return of Justin Williams, Jordan Martinook, Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiterr have been the healthy extras. Should they go out and trade for one of the rental options something is going to have give from the current roster. If the rumors of Haula being unhappy are true, they could go down that route and move him, otherwise it might be best to stand pat here given how tight the room is.

Since Dougie Hamilton went down with injury, rumors have been circulating that Canes are looking at the rental market for help on the backend. While guys like DeMelo and Dillon are quality players, Carolina has a deep blueline as is. Does it make sense to give up a second round pick and a prospect for someone when they have Haydn Fleury and Trevor van Riemsdyk both playing well of late and arguably the best D-man in the AHL in Jake Bean? No, not really.

On the other hand, if you can get a solid guy for really cheap or some like Brodin or Martinez with an extra year on their deal sure go for it. But the Carolina Hurricanes shouldn’t be giving up high end assets from rental players just yet, a year or two from now when they’re a real cup favorite sure, but not this season.

The last area Waddell has been rumored to looking to address is goaltending. Linked to Lehner the past two offseasons, it has been reported that if Chicago were to make him available that the Carolina Hurricanes are the front runners to land him. Goaltenders, especially at the deadline, may not cost anywhere near as much as a forward or defenseman would but you still need to consider the same things.

Given how quickly fans have taken to Petr Mrazek and the recent play of James Reimer, does it make sense to disrupt the current tandem in net?  A month ago when it seemed like every night the duo would give up soft goal after soft goal, maybe, but with the way they played entering the break, you have to think the confidence has been restored in the crease. With that in mind, should the cost be extremely low, adding someone of Lehner’s caliber in net wouldn’t be that bad of an idea but otherwise standing pat may be their best bet here yet again.

Last year, when they were in a similar position, they decided to stand pat and they went all the way to the conference finals. Given the depth they added in the offseason, the Carolina Hurricanes are in a good position to make another run. There’s no question Waddell has been busy making calls, but if the cost are too high he should be comfortable with the way the team is currently constructed. At the end of the day Williams’ return may be more than enough for the stretch run, and considering the cost and familiarity within the locker room, there really isn’t a better option out there.

All in all, given the Carolina Hurricanes current position in the standings as a “bubble team,” standing pat may be their best option. While it certainly isn’t the exciting or enticing option, it may be what’s best for the now. Just give it a year or two and then the Hurricanes will be in a better position to be true buyers at the deadline, but for now they need to resit the temptation of the deadline.

Question for CC Readers: What do you think the Hurricanes will do leading up to the trade deadline?