The NHL Trade Deadline is set to be on Monday, February 24th and the Chicago Blackhawks seem to continue falling off the cliff. Could the Carolina Hurricanes find a trade partner in Chicago again?
Chicago and Carolina have been trade partners for years now. Just this past off-season, the Hurricanes shipped away fan favorite Calvin de Haan and Aleksi Saarela for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg. The Hurricanes only had to give away a 2nd and 3rd round pick for Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell, four years ago.
Usually the Canes have come out on top of trades with the Blackhawks, except for the trade for Scott Darling, which Hurricanes fans will never forgive the Blackhawks for or more accurately, former General Manager Ron Francis.
Chicago has been below average for the majority of this season, but went on a good stretch recently where they went 5-1-2 in eight games, but have flopped ever since. The Blackhawks were challenging the Western Conference for a playoff spot, but have placed themselves to be sellers because of losing seven of their last eight games.
The Blackhawks may be the exact trading partner that the Hurricanes need, if either team wants to even make any moves in the remaining three days before the Trade Deadline. The Blackhawks have struggled all season because of their lame defense and the Hurricanes need perhaps some extra scoring support or consistent goal-tending, which doesn’t seem to be much of a problem anymore.
Erik Gustafsson knows the trade rumors and reports are out there. For now, he's just trying to tune in them out: pic.twitter.com/BFsZgUkKte
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 20, 2020
The Canes had eyes on Robin Lehner last off-season, while negotiating with Petr Mrazek on a contract. Lehner had a decent season so far with the Blackhawks, but has lost four out of his last six starts, which may be helpful to the Hurricanes if they do want to get him, as it’ll bring his price tag down.
Only recently have both Mrazek and James Reimer looked solid in net, usually it’s one or the other, but it’s been a cooperative effort now. A trade for a goalie may seem odd to fans now, but may pay off later or it could go incredibly wrong, never say never to the option.
All of the pieces for the Canes seem like enough to make the playoffs, but it seems any part of the forwards, defense, or goaltending could get an extra boost.
When Dougie Hamilton was injured, it seemed at times that the defense lost their groove and hasn’t been playing their best hockey. A defenseman has been something the Hurricanes have inquired into, but haven’t made any actual moves yet.
Erik Gustafsson and Connor Murphy have both been in particular rumors of being on the trade block. Trading for defensemen from Chicago could look bad on paper as team defense on the Blackhawks is garbage, but perhaps it’s the system under Jeremy Colliton that doesn’t allow the Blackhawks defensemen to play their best hockey.
A change of scenery could do wonders for the Canes and whichever defenseman they trade for.
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The realm of possibility expands more when looking at the cap situation for the Blackhawks, who have restricted free agents coming off the books and requiring big contracts. Alexander Nylander, Dylan Strome, and even Alex Debrincat could be for light conversation in trade talks.
However, all three of those names will require quite the boatload the other way. Strome is a capable center who can win draws, Debrincat and Strome are elite right-handed wingers, a particular need for the Hurricanes.
The Trade Deadline is only a few days away and I would not be surprised if the Hurricanes and Blackhawks are two teams who make trades with each other.
The Canes will likely use their draft picks and defensive prospects to send to Chicago. For the Blackhawks, it seems that everyone on that roster is available to talk about other than Patrick Kane.
Question for Cardiac Cane Readers: If the Hurricanes made a trade with the Blackhawks, who would you want?