Kyle Palmieri
Does Kyle Palmieri make an interesting pull for the Carolina Hurricanes?
Kyle Palmieri often divides opinion in terms of his talent. At 29 years of age, and entering the final year of his contract, Palmieri has reasons to make the acquisition and reasons to back away from the New Jersey Devil. For one, his production seems to be outstanding, but you have to remember the inflated ice time he would get being on a weaker team in a bloodbath division.
Before I get too far, yes internal division trades are difficult to execute. There’s likely going to have to be a slight overpayment to encourage a team to trade a quality player to a division rival. With both the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes being Metropolitan division teams, the difficulties of making a trade work are exaggerated because you never want to see a rival succeed.
Palmieri tallied 45 points in the form of 20 goals and 25 assists in 65 games in New Jersey this year. Say what you will about the Devils, Palmieri has remained one of the lone bright spots in a rather stagnant franchise. He’s recorded 132 goals and 117 assists for 249 points as a New Jersey Devil up to this point in 363 games. Not world-beating numbers, but nothing to bat an eyelid at.
Palmieri makes 4,250,000 in terms of actual money with a 4,650,000 cap hit. When you’re in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and cashflow is an issue for teams, the fact he’s so cheap in the final year of his contract might be more of an incentive than other years. Although this should not be a decisive factor, it’s something to keep in mind when discussing the former Anaheim Duck.
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What would it take to get Kyle Palmieri? Likely, futures judging by the state of the current state of the New Jersey Devils hockey club. Something like Jake Bean or the 2021 1st to build the package around. It is important to note not both. Palmieri is not someone who can be acquired for pennies on the dollar as he is far too good a player. However, TSN does report that New Jersey could look to move him.
If Palmieri came to Carolina, I’d expect him to slot into the 2nd line on the wing. With the SAT line almost being set in stone, Palmieri would be an ideal 2nd line winger to slot in alongside Martin Necas and Vincent Trocheck as a great 2nd line. It also allows the Canes to re-shuffle the depth and plays a stronger bottom 6 with more scoring options, which makes the team all-around better.
Something else to consider when looking at a trade for Palmieri is that (as I previously mentioned) he is a rental. His 4,650,000 cap hit comes off the books at the end of the season. Not only are you committing to the reduced salary payment in comparison to the cap hit, but there are no long term payments required.
This could be an interesting acquisition for many reasons, and the fact that Palmieri is rumored to be on the move only adds fuel to the fire in terms of reasons to move him for New Jersey, In Carolina, Palmieri seems like a decent fit. Obviously, in this league, nothing is certain until it’s completed. But in theory, it seems like a hand and a glove.