Three Low-Cost Trade Deadline Targets For The Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the teams gaining a lot of attention in regards to the upcoming NHL trade deadline. This boils down to the fact that the Hurricanes are classified as a “buyer” universally. Being a buyer at the trade deadline means that the Hurricanes are expected to make some moves on March 21st (or before) in order to improve their chances at a Stanley Cup.

The Canes currently sit atop the Eastern Conference in both points, with 87, and points percentage with a points percentage rate of .737. Through 59 games Carolina has a record of 41-13-5, good for second in the entire NHL. Carolina is 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and boasts a goal differential of +59. The Canes have the best penalty kill in the league with a success rate of 89.4, and a top 5 powerplay with a success rate of 24.9%. Yeah, not too bad, huh?

Many people though, especially in the Raleigh-Durham area, feel like the Canes could still improve. Many look at the offense as a weakness of the Canes, despite going 4-1 in their last 5 games, the Canes did not score more than 3 times in any of them, and a lot of those games involved an empty-net tally for the team in red.

Other fans have looked at the defense, can the largely inconsistent play of the third pair balance itself out, or should the Hurricanes look externally for help on the back-end? It’s hard to question the situation in the net, Frederik Andersen is on pace to be a Vezina candidate and Antti Raanta has played phenomenally as of late, some wonder if maybe acquiring a third-string goalie would be smart just in case Andersen’s injury proves to be worse than initially thought.

As it stands now, the Hurricanes only have $1,792,500 at their disposal for deadline day, according to CapFriendly. That is a major limitation as they do not have a lot of room under the cap, like many contenders in the league. In a recent interview with NHL.com, Canes GM Don Waddell made it incredibly clear that he isn’t looking to change the dynamic of the team.

In the aforementioned interview, Waddell went on to say “We like our team. We don’t really want to trade anybody off our team. Saying that, if there was a deal that made a lot of sense, we’d have to talk about it. But we don’t have a lot of cap space.” He went on to say that he may look at supplementing the defense for the right price but that was about it on the trade front.

For the most part, Carolina has been a very quiet team at the deadline, like last year when the only trade made was swapping third-pair defensemen, bringing in Jani Hakanpaa. In 2020 Waddell’s hand was forced after a slew of injuries led to the busiest trade deadline in Hurricanes history.

For those expecting a big splash from the Hurricanes, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. The Canes have limited cap space, the front office does not want to mess with the roster too much, and the team has been more than happy standing pat in the past. However, a move is still very much possible, in this article we are going to explore the possibility of trading for three players that not only should fit underneath the cap, but also won’t cost the team too much in terms of assets.

Think of these as more boring, but also, more realistic trade targets. I do not think that any of these should be the ONLY move the Canes make on trade deadline day, but a little bit of added depth wouldn’t hurt the team.

Before I start, no, I did not include him JUST because his last name is Staal, even if I think it would be fun to finally have the elusive fourth Staal brother on the Hurricanes. Most Hurricanes fans are already familiar with Marc Staal due to his family ties. The Red Wings defenseman is of course related to Canes greats Eric, Jordan, and Jared Staal. The veteran recently played his 1000th NHL game and could be an intriguing piece potentially on the move at the trade deadline.

Marc was selected 12th overall in the 2005 draft, becoming the third member of the Staal family to be selected in the first round. Staal jumped straight into the NHL as soon as his OHL stint was over, making his debut for the Rangers in 2007. Marc started as a defensive defenseman for the Rangers and continued his development the same way. Marc began to play big minutes very early in his career, averaging 25:44 in time on ice a game during the 2010-11 season. Marc usually shelved more of a defensive role, his offensive production began to pick up, as he set a career-high in points in 2010-11 with 29 in 77 games.

Staal gained a lot of experience in New York, as his team made the playoffs 10 of the first 11 years he spent there. Some of those trips included deep playoff runs, as the Rangers made the conference finals in 2012 and 2015, and even made a trip to the Stanley Cup final in 2014, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games. His final playoff appearance for the Rangers came during the 2020 bubble, where he lost to his brother Jordan and the Hurricanes in 3 games. Marc was traded to Detroit alongside a 2nd round pick in what was a cap-dump move.

Marc’s career with Detroit hasn’t been too notable, but this year he has put up significantly better results than his last few seasons. Although 3 goals and 9 assists in 53 games may not look like a lot, he has generated a lot of offense for the struggling Detroit club. Although plus-minus is a largely silly stat, the fact he leads the Red Wings with +10 while playing in their top-4 has to be a good sign.

Marc does carry a $2 million dollar cap hit, and that could make things a little more tricky. If I had to bet, I do not think the price for Marc Staal’s services would be more than a low-round pick. If Carolina wants Detroit to retain half of his salary then they may have to give up a 3rd or 4th round pick, but nothing too ridiculous.

I am in no way suggesting that Marc Staal would make a huge difference to the Canes lineup, but you can never have enough defensive depth on the left side in the playoffs. Marc Staal is another player that has been so close before and is just itching to get over the hump. The 35-year-old is likely approaching his last chance at a ring.

There have been very few bright spots for the Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season, but Colin Blackwell in the middle-6 has been one of them. Being selected from the New York Rangers during the 2021 expansion draft, the right-winger has proved his worth to the team, despite only being able to participate in 38 games this season. Blackwell has 8 goals and 8 assists for the Kraken so far this season, and if the Canes are looking for some more depth scoring, he may be a good fit.

If you could pick one word to describe Blackwell’s career to this point, it would be “resilient”. Colin was a 7th round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2010 and did not sign his first professional contract until he got his first AHL contract in 2016 with the Sharks’ minor league affiliate. After only recording 11 points in 57 games, the San Jose Barracuda did not re-sign him. Colin spent a year with the Rochester Americans, where he recorded 45 points in 61 NHL games.

As a free agent, Blackwell signed with the Nashville Predators on a two-year deal in hopes of finally making his NHL debut. After playing most of the season with the Predators’ AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals Blackwell was recalled and played in 6 NHL games during the 2018-19 season. Blackwell played in both the AHL and NHL, scoring 23 points in 26 games for the Admirals whilst recording 3 goals and 7 assists for the Predators in 27 games.

Blackwell put himself on the map during his tenure as a New York Ranger. Colin signed a 2-year contract with the Rangers before the 2020-21 season. Blackwell was able to attain 12 goals and 10 assists during his first season as a full-time NHLer, getting into 47 (of 56) games on the season. This season with the Kraken he hasn’t scored at that same pace, but he hasn’t been far off despite the time spent out of the lineup due to injury.

The Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly just looking at defensemen, but if the opportunity arises, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to load up even more at forward. For just $725,000, Blackwell’s production is more than a bargain. He has experience playing with top-6 players in New York, and could potentially replace Martinook’s infamous spot on the second line. Unless a bidding war breaks out, it is very unlikely that Blackwell will go for more than a mid-round pick. If the Canes are looking for cheap and efficient depth for the bottom-6, Colin Blackwell may be a perfect fit.