Cardiac Cane
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Seven unrestricted free agents the Hurricanes could sign to flush out their depth

By Conor Power

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 08: General manager Brad Treliving of the Calgary Flames and general manager Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes talk on the draft floor prior to Round Two of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 08, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JULY 08: General manager Brad Treliving of the Calgary Flames and general manager Don Waddell of the Carolina Hurricanes talk on the draft floor prior to Round Two of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 08, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – APRIL 18: Phil Kessel #81 of the Arizona Coyotes shoots the puck ahead of Brady Skjei #76 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on April 18, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – APRIL 18: Phil Kessel #81 of the Arizona Coyotes shoots the puck ahead of Brady Skjei #76 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on April 18, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Phil Kessel

With the Hurricanes needing some scoring help, they could seek to continue to add to their already very upgraded top nine by throwing in one of the best goal scorers of the last decade into that mix. Former Arizona Coyote Phil Kessel is on the free agent market and with the lack of reports regarding anything to do with Phil the Thrill, could he make sense as an addition in Raleigh?

Kessel does have a reputation. He’s not someone that loves playing the defensive game, and he’s not quite as quick on his edges as he used to be. During his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kessel got a reputation as being a little unsociable and not loving the media. He was labeled as someone with character issues, but those have since disappeared. With that said, you know very much what you are getting with Kessel.

He hasn’t missed a game since 2008 and has the 2nd longest NHL iron man streak, or consecutive games played streak. He’s roughly 25 off the record. He’ll always be an option. Kessel has only had once a season in this ironman streak in which he was under a half-a-point per game and that was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic. He’s the definition of consistency in an NHL player in both production and availability.

Kessel isn’t the same quality of player he was when he was in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization being a big part of the Pens team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups. He’s not what he was on the Penguins’ famous HBK line, but that doesn’t mean that the Madison, Wisconsin native isn’t a very serviceable player for his team. He’s won back-to-back Stanley cups and can be a leader for a team.

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