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.

Taylor Hall

So, I know the last thing I said was splashing the cash with some big names hitting the market next summer is not a great idea. However, Taylor Hall is not the normal run of the mill top 6 forward that decides to test the free-agent market. Hall would give Carolina a 4th duel threat option playing at the highest level in the league and really add a fear factor into the 2nd line.

Hall has had his career plagued with injuries, there’s no denying that. However, under the Carolina Hurricanes regime, there’s a lot of hope for Hall to be at his fittest and to have his body looked after. This speaks to the incredible job Bill Burniston does for the team as the head strength and conditioning coach. It would give hope to getting Hall’s body back to its athletic peak.

When Hall has managed to avoid the injury bug, his numbers have just been amazing. In 2017-18 he played 76 games with the New Jersey Devils. In that time he put up 39 goals, 54 assists for 93 points, and won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. He outscored his closest teammate by over 50 points. He can carry a team kicking and screaming to the playoffs.

Hall also has a handy trick with teams that miss the playoffs. Hall has been in the league for 10 years. We don’t know the lottery results this year, so let’s limit it to the 9 completed seasons and his draft year. Over those 10 years, he’s been on the team that has won the lottery 6 times. So win or lose with Taylor Hall, you’re likely going to win in the long term.

Now, the problem with Hall comes in the form of the GDP of a small Caribbean island it’s going to take to sign him. Hall currently makes 6,000,000 a year and could very well be getting something like 9 or 10 million a year in his next contract because he is that talented. However, Hall hasn’t had a great year this year with just 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points in 65 games. Maybe his value drops as a result?

This is the dream scenario for Carolina, that Hall signs for cheap and slots in perfectly. However, this one is incredibly unlikely mainly due to the fact that he is a former league MVP and Hall will just be offered more money by a team more desperate for high-end talent. Someone like his hometown Calgary Flames spring to mind.

Mike Hoffman

This is a much cheaper alternative than the previous one, mainly due to the fact that this player has never been the league MVP, but that doesn’t mean Mike Hoffman doesn’t hold incredible value to a team with his on-ice play. Hoffman is a pure goal scorer, something the Hurricanes have needed for a long time and he would slot in so perfectly on the 2nd line.

Targeting the Kitchener, Ontario native makes a lot of sense for many reasons. For one, slotting him alongside former teammate Vincent Trocheck on the second line may provide a spark to help with the depths offense. Hoffman also provides a left-handed shot to a line that would project to be with Twi right-handed shots in the form of the aforementioned Trocheck and Martin Necas.

Hoffman has put up at least 20 goals in every season since 2014-15 and has either surpassed 30 or been on pace to pass 30 when the season was halted for the last 2 years. He seems to be getting more deadly with time. His heavy shot can beat even the best goalies in the league. Although he’s aging, his numbers suggest his on-ice production hasn’t been affected yet.

However, there’s a common knock on Hoffman. Mainly it’s that his 5v5 stats don’t read too well and he’s mainly a power-play specialist. He’s not exactly a Selke candidate defensively and I do think it’s a very fair comment. So, why should Carolina target someone who cannot score at even strength? If all we needed was a power-play specialist, there’s loads of cheaper alternatives.

Commonly, this is a fair comment, but the thing with Hoffman is that he is such a threat with his shot, he doesn’t need to be on the power-play to score. It’s just where he’s most dominant. Hoffman would be a perfect fit on a team that created more chances than anyone else in the league last year, but only finished 15th in goals for across the NHL.

Now, I’m not saying we can expect something like this absolutely disgusting deke from Hoffman in every game he plays, but you can see his scoring ability and with the number of chances the Canes generate, it feels like a recipe for success to me.

Hoffman is nearly in his 30’s and would also provide somewhat of a veteran presence in the line-up. However, Hoffman being nearly 30 also means the contract couldn’t be too long term. Something along the lines of 7 million over 3 years should make Hoffman consider his options a little closer, depending on if he wants money and term, or to go chasing a cup ring.

With Florida also supposedly looking to off-load salary and money this off-season, it could make Hoffman a free agent even if he doesn’t want to be. So there’s a very high chance of Hoffman hitting the market. Obviously, there would be a number of suitors after him, but pursuing him is something that should certainly be considered closely by the Carolina Hurricanes management.

Evgenii Dadonov

This should be a name that long-time Carolina Hurricanes fans should remember because, at one point, he played for the organization in the AHL. Evgenii Dadonov is going to hit the free-agent market this summer in all likelihood. With Florida looking to off-load salary and free up money, I think it’s close to a certainty we see Dadonov in the free-agent market.

Dadonov is a player who’s very comparable to Teuvo Teravainen in my opinion. He often flies under the radar, often puts up very good point totals, and his defensive game is just totally ignored at times despite being towards the top of the league in most analytics and advanced metrics. This is not something to rely on entirely, but it’s certainly promising.

Dadonov has recorded 111 assists and 91 goals for 202 points in 280 NHL games. It’s a small sample size, but very respectable totals. But why has someone as old as Dadonov only played 280 games I can hear some of you asking already. Dadonov decides he wanted to return home to Russia instead of playing in the AHL when he was with the Hurricanes organization.

In his stint in the Kontinental Hockey League, he managed 224 points across 5 seasons. This came in the form of 101 goals and 123 assists across 271 games. It shows his production is sustainable. A genuine duel-threat, Dadonov can pass the puck around the corner, and have it land on a dime in a drain, or let off a quick shot with his really speedy release.

When someone can put the puck on a stick as well as Evgenii Dadonov does here, you know you can rely on them to be a great play-maker. When his shot is every bit as devastating as his passing ability, he does become quite the commodity to chase this off-season His defensive ability is just as good too, which really does bode well to make a complete player.

Dadonov is 31 years old, and isn’t exactly in his youth anymore. Any contract Carolina sign with a player of this age would need to be accommodating to that. He’s not always going to be this kind of player. However, he’s still producing so he deserves to be paid what he is deserving of if he is to become a Carolina Hurricane.

Again, with Dadonov at his age, he has a decision to make. He can either come to a team like Carolina and go after a Stanley Cup Championship, he can go chasing the biggest payday possible, or he can stay with the Panthers and enjoy the sunshine and low taxes despite not having the best team around him or receiving the biggest pay-cheque.