On day one of the NHL free agency, the Carolina Hurricanes were one of the teams making big moves. It wasn’t so much in the free agent market but landed two major players via the trade route. It is very on-brand for the Carolina Hurricanes to go a different route from everyone else, but that doesn’t mean that has to be the only route they take when pursuing their goals and hopes.
Due to the cap being flat and teams trying to do financial gymnastics to get their teams under the $82.5 million cap ceiling, there has been a little bit of a jam in the free agent market and a lot of the more recognizable names are still without a place to call home for the 2022-23 season. We know that the Hurricanes still have some question marks regarding their roster so there could be more additions to come.
Already this summer, we have seen the organization go out and sign long-term target Ondrej Kase to a one-year, $1.5 million deal in an attempt to flush out the depth on the team so we know that the organization isn’t against making the deep deeper via the free agent route. So if they are willing to go that way once, they’re going to be looking at how else they can make the team better if it makes sense.
Carolina as of right now still needs to find someone to play on the fourth line, and perhaps pick up some more depth in both the forwards and defensemen groups. I’m not going to include anyone in this list that is projected to be among the top earners in the NHL on their new deal. Consider this an attempt at finding bargain deals for the Canes to sign without being in the Hurricanes’ front office.