A Look At Potential Trade Targets Linked to the Carolina Hurricanes

With the trade deadline just a couple of weeks away, let’s take a look at some of the guys linked to the Carolina Hurricanes in trade rumours.

With the Hurricanes squarely in the midst of the playoff hunt, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the team has been actively mentioned in the rumor mill leading up to the trade deadline on February 24th.

Whether or not the Hurricanes will end up parting with assets to acquire some player(s) to aid them with their post-season aspirations remains to be seen, and there’s a number of different situations they could look to address – an argument could probably be made for all options – offense, defense, and/or goaltending.

Despite the team ranking a respectable 10th-place in goals-for per game, the offense aside from the Svechnikov-Aho-Turbo trio has been sparse recently. The team’s defense as a whole has been shaky, and, without Dougie Hamilton, a guy like Trevor van Riemsdyk has been over-slotted in the lineup. The goaltending has been solid, but inconsistent.

As a result, the Hurricanes have multiple options they should explore over the next couple weeks. They have an extremely deep prospect group, and currently own 10 picks in the 2020 draft – including 2 in each of the first 3 rounds. All in all, if a trade arises that makes sense, the Hurricanes have the capital to do it.

Don Waddell and company have unquestionably been working the phones and will continue to do so over the course of the next 2 weeks. As talks swirl around the league, NHL insiders have linked multiple players to Carolina, so it’s only natural we take a look at who these players are. Trade talk! Let’s get started!

D Sami Vatanen (New Jersey Devils)

Not like my opinion really means anything, but Sami Vatanen is currently my number one choice in terms of Canes trade targets; so forgive me if this breakdown might sound like a sale.

If you aren’t familiar with Vatanen, the 28-year old defender seems like a seamless fit for what the Hurricanes are looking for. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote on the weekend that Carolina had shifted their focus away from Kings defenseman Alec Martinez and are honing in on Vatanen, as well as Sharks D Brenden Dillion who we’ll get to later.

Vatanen was originally drafted and started his career with the Anaheim Ducks, and made his way to Jersey in the Adam Henrique trade back in November of 2017. He’s in the last year of his deal – a pending UFA this summer – and the re-building Devils have a lot of money already tied up on their blue line with P.K. Subban, Damon Severson and Will Butcher.

That likely makes Vatanen expendable, and he’ll have suitors on the trade market. He’s one of the Devils’ top possession players, and he’s a very good puck-mover exiting the defensive zone. He leads all Devils D with 23 points in 47 games, and has a ton of skill for a defenseman:

Where Vatanen would really be useful to Carolina is on the powerplay, as he quarterbacks the PP1 in New Jersey. He’s got 9 powerplay assists and averages over 3 minutes of powerplay time per game, and has the best GF/60 rating of any Devil defender on the man advantage.

Vatanen also plays almost 2 minutes per game on the penalty kill. He’s a guy that the Devils coaching staff trusts in all situations, and he regularly plays well over 20 minutes a night.

Maybe the best part about Vatanen is that he’s a right-handed shot, so he could easily slot right alongside Jaccob Slavin on the Canes first pairing. With Gardiner-Pesce and Fleury-Edmundson enjoying solid success as D pairings, a top-pair of Slavin-Vatanen could really steady the Canes defense, while Vatanen and Gardiner man the 2 powerplay units.

Vatanen, who’s likely due for a raise on his current 4.875 AAV contract, would *likely* be purely a rental for the Canes. Regardless, that’s how teams inquiring on him would view him, and as such, LeBrun has speculated a 2020 second-round would likely seal the deal on a Vatanen trade.

Carolina could dangle their own 2nd rounder, or the one that they acquired from the Rangers (for Adam Fox) for Sami, and have a boatload of prospects they could sweeten the deal with if need be. For me, Vatanen seems like a no-brainer – all an-situations player who can run the PP1 and slot right into the top-4 on defense.

D Brenden Dillon (San Jose Sharks)

Another defenseman linked to the Hurricanes by Pierre LeBrun, Brenden Dillon is an extremely large fellow. A 6’4″, 225lb, strong, tough, stay-at-home D is exactly what the Canes have been in need of, seemingly forever.

A lot of NHL teams have been linked to this guy, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s got great playoff experience – 60 playoff games in the last 4 years – and is a very steadying presence on D – he’s second amongst Sharks D in Corsi% at 51.7, and is statistically one of their best penalty killers at 3.7 GA/60.

Dillon, who’s also a UFA at the end of the season, could be just what the doctor ordered for Carolina. He leads the Sharks with 167 hits (Jordan Staal leads the Canes with 116) and he’s fourth on the Sharks with 61 blocked shots. He also leads San Jose with 2.9 defensive point shares, which would only put him behind Slavin, Hamilton and Pesce with CAR.

He’s an absolute rock on defense, but Dillon can’t necessarily contribute to the Canes in ways that Vatanen can. He offers virtually nothing offensively (has never played PP in his career) and, as a left shot, would join an already-deep left side in a Canes D group that’s thin on the right side.

Here’s a look at what you’re getting with Dillon:

In terms of compensation, it would be pretty realistic for San Jose to ask for a 2nd rounder for Dillon, and based on his defensive acumen and experience it seems likely that they could get that, and maybe more. He’s definitely a name to keep in mind moving forward, as he seems like the type of guy Dundon and Waddell would covet.

G Robin Lehner (Chicago Blackhawks)

Did you really think that a Hurricanes trade rumor article wouldn’t include a goaltender!?

Whether or not the team needs to add a goaltender at this point is up for debate. Both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer have had moments of brilliance marred by inconsistency. And regardless of Reimer’s recent run of form, I’m not sure anyone could say their confident in the current goaltending situation.

I personally do think that the duo of Mrazek and Reimer is adequate enough if need be. The Canes’ in-zone coverage on defense has been horrific recently, and it’s hard to imagine many goalies having better results than either of those two, given their recent situations.

If there *is* a guy that makes sense, it’s Chicago goaltender Robin Lehner. A reigning Vezina Trophy finalist, Lehner was linked to Carolina via free agency in the off-season but ultimately ended up in Chicago. This season, he’s 15-8-5 with a 2.83 GAA and a .923 save percentage, and has been a far superior option to Corey Crawford in the Blackhawks crease.

Carolina has been linked to Lehner for months, though the rumors have died out recently with Chicago unexpectedly climbing their way back into the playoff mix. However, they’ve lost 3 straight games and currently sit 4 points back of a playoff spot. If they can’t gain any ground in the next week or two, they could look to move Lehner if they don’t plan to re-sign him.

An impending UFA, Lehner is obviously in line for a huge contract on the open market this summer, given his success in recent years. Though his numbers are rather similar to James Reimer’s, Lehner would be a sizeable upgrade in goal. I mean, just look at this:

https://twitter.com/nhl/status/1225239456938123264?s=21

Let’s not forget that despite Carolina getting the better of the Islanders in the playoffs last season (SWEEEEEP!), Lehner was a brick wall for them, posting a .936 save percentage in his 8 playoff starts. In comparison, Mrazek had a .894 in his 11 games.

More from Cardiac Cane

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• Week Two Coverage Of College Hockey In NC
• Derek Stepan Ends His On Ice Career As A Hurricane
• The Southeast Rookie Showcase Will Be a Good Look at Carolina’s Future
• Noesen Ready To Provide Depth For Canes

The whole Lehner situation is a tough one overall, as arguments could be made for or against the move. The Reimer/Mrazek has been solid with all things considered, but could Lehner upgrade it – and by how much? You also have to factor in that Chicago would likely want a real haul for him, and other teams would likely be in the mix.

This is likely a position that Canes brass will monitor closely over the next 10-14 days. If Reimer and Mrazek continue to hold up, they may choose to stand pat. But with the regime’s previous linkage to Lehner, it should not be a shock at all if the Canes jump in the mix should Chicago make Lehner available. Definitely keep a close eye on this one.

To summarize, for now, these are the 4 guys that have been linked to Carolina most recently – but that doesn’t mean they won’t circle back to other guys they’ve previously been linked to such as Dylan DeMelo (OTT) and Alec Martinez (LAK).

Regardless, whether the team makes a move or not, it’s intriguing that Carolina is viewed as a buyer for the first time in over a decade, and it’ll definitely make for a very interesting 2 weeks leading up to the trade deadline.

Question for CC Readers: Should the Canes make a move before the deadline?