Cardiac Cane
Fansided

Three star forwards the Hurricanes should look at signing in free agency

By Conor Power

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 19: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes plays the puck while defended by Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators during the third period in Game Two of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 19, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 19: Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes plays the puck while defended by Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators during the third period in Game Two of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PNC Arena on May 19, 2021 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MAY 09: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators and Pavel Francouz #39 of the Colorado Avalanche watch as the puck goes into the net during the third period of Game Four of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 09, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. The Avalanche swept the Predators 4-0 to advance to the second round. (Photo by Mickey Bernal/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MAY 09: Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators and Pavel Francouz #39 of the Colorado Avalanche watch as the puck goes into the net during the third period of Game Four of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 09, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. The Avalanche swept the Predators 4-0 to advance to the second round. (Photo by Mickey Bernal/Getty Images) /

Filip Forsberg

I’m going to start with Filip Forsberg. He was a member of the Nashville Predators organization but after the Predators were swept by the Colorado Avalanche, Forsberg seemed to take a farewell lap signifying his time in the Music City was coming to a close. Coming off the best year of his career, he’s going to want a decent increase on his current salary and he’s earned it at this point.

In a career year in Tennessee, Forsberg put up 42 goals and 42 helpers for a pleasingly symmetrical 84 points in just 69 games. These totals are a lot higher than anything Forsberg has ever done before and it is worth mentioning that this seems to be completely unsustainable given the 27-year-old’s development over the years and his previous totals. Giving him a huge payday will carry risk.

If you sign Forsberg to the max 7-year term, he will be 34 at the natural conclusion of that deal. Production past the age of 30 is normally very inconsistent, that doesn’t take into account the injury history that comes when you take on Filip Forsberg. He’s going to be great when he’s an option but a player’s best ability is always availability. If Forsberg isn’t an option for a quarter of the year, is he worth it?

On the flip side, he’s a goal scorer. A 40-goal season is nothing to turn your nose up at and Forsberg had that. It was the first time in his career, and it was the most points he’s put up by a large margin, but there’s still a lot to like with the player. If he does become a Hurricane, slotting him in on the 2nd line is going to make this team a lot better than it is currently set up to be.

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