Carolina Hurricanes: Top Six Forwards in Free Agency

The Carolina Hurricanes need another top 6 forward if they really want to become a Stanley Cup Contender, but who could they get to fix that issue?

Carolina had three players pass the 60 point plateau in the 67 games they played this season, but no one else hit the 40 point mark among the forwards. Only Martin Necas and Warren Foegele have hit 30 points. So, it’s clear that Carolina needs another top 6 forward to help take the weight off the big three the Carolina Hurricanes have.

There’s a variety of options in free agency for the Hurricanes to choose from. From pure scorers to genuine play-makers, to even one elite talent that Carolina may need to work some magic to get, but it’s a possibility. So, what can Carolina do to ensure that they can add the top 6 forward they need to push the Carolina  Hurricanes to be a true cup contender.

For this, I am only going to consider unrestricted free agents. This will exclude the young wave of restricted free agents that are going to hit the free-agent market because the chances of an offer-sheet in consecutive seasons are minimal. It’s more likely we see RFA rights traded for packages, but an offer-sheet I highly doubt.

So, moving onto the potential free agent targets that will be around this off-season. Please be wary that there may be extensions signed after this is released that I was not aware of because I cannot tell the future. This is just potential unrestricted free agents who would fill that need in the Carolina top 6.

There are a couple of extra things to consider as well when browsing the free-agent market. First of all, is the obvious skill level. They need to be good enough to slot into the line-up and, theoretically at least, provide some form of a contribution to the Canes. Whether that is sniping pucks past goalies or passing the puck around a corner, they need to bring something to the team.

On top of that, there needs to be some cap consideration. Both Dougie Hamilton and Andrei Svechnikov will next extensions next year, so spending all the money in the world is not realistic, or good management. An essential part of keeping these two emerging stars will be to manage the contracts the Hurricanes sign this summer very wisely instead of just splashing out.