Why The Carolina Hurricanes Should Pursue a Rental at the Deadline
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has made it clear that he is not willing to move futures for a player without term at this year’s trade deadline. Here’s why I think he should do the opposite.
Ok, you guys are gonna have to hear me out on this one. So, we’ve all heard about this by now. Tom Dundon has, for all intents and purposes, declared that he is not interested in moving any of the Carolina Hurricanes’ future picks or prospects for a rental; he is purely interested in a player with term remaining on his contract after this season.
Normally, I’d agree; I think rentals are good at helping struggling teams in the short term, and providing a boost to get over the playoff line. A lot of times, though, rentals can turn out to be a waste of time and resources. In this circumstance, however, I disagree with Tom Dundon entirely. Here’s why.
Let’s start with the foundation, shall we? As of right now, the Carolina Hurricanes have 4 defensemen with term left on their contracts after this season on their NHL roster: Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Jake Gardiner.
The defensemen who have not yet been re-signed, and whose contracts expire at the end of this season are Haydn Fleury, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Joel Edmundson.
At this point, we can (safely) assume that one of these three will be re-signed; for the purposes of this article, let’s just say it is Haydn Fleury.
This effectively ties up 5 spots on the NHL roster defensive corps. If the Carolina Hurricanes pursue a player with term, the Carolina Hurricanes will have all 6 spots on the defensive lineup filled, and players like Jake Bean and/or Chase Priskie who, in my opinion, are fully ready and deserving of an NHL spot, will effectively be snubbed from the NHL in the 2020-21 season.
If the Canes do sign a player with term left, they’ll have to move a player or two to make room for the up-and-coming defenders; they’ll have given up more for a player they’ll eventually need to move anyways, or risk keeping good young players from developing.
“But, Matt!”, you might be saying, “This just means we have the luxury of having an incredibly deep and talented pool of defensemen!”
You are 100% correct, but what good is having an incredibly deep and talented pool of defensemen if you don’t use them? Players get complacent and stagnant if left in the AHL too long, especially players of Jake Bean’s caliber. Not to mention the frustration that comes with knowing you’re fully ready to take the next step, just to have a logjam of bodies in front of you impeding your upward progress.
In my opinion, signing a rental is 100% the way to go here. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for Don Waddell and Tom Dundon to go all in on a solid impact guy who can hang around for a few years and make the team better.
The only thing about this is, I don’t believe there are many of those available at this year’s deadline; at least none that would be within range of what the Carolina Hurricanes have been reported to be willing to spend.
If Dundon really is concerned with the future of the team, he should (in my opinion) take a look at the closest possible iteration of what this team will look like in the next 5 or so years, and realize that he has potential world-class talent at his fingertips. Jake Bean is the most productive defenseman in the AHL at the moment, registering 39 points in 49 games played (7g, 32a).
This isn’t to say Dundon doesn’t know what he’s doing. He has brought this team back to relevancy in a big way. I just think this is too much of an opportunity to discuss and to recognize how much impact any given move the Carolina Hurricanes make at this year’s deadline could have on the future of the team, seeing as how that seems to be the fulcrum by which Dundon is asserting his decision.
But, hey, what do I know?