Canes Trade Deadline Expectations

If you are a hockey fan it comes as no surprise that the beginning of March and July is when the hockey world is glued to the internet.

The opening of unrestricted free agency in the NHL starts in July and the NHL trade deadline falls at the end of February or the beginning of March.

This year the trade deadline is on Friday, March 3rd at 3 PM EST.

Of course, the teams that believe they are in contention for the Stanley Cup expect to be active by this point of the season. On the other hand, the teams that are out of the playoff race are even more active to retain assets for top players.

The Carolina Hurricanes naturally fall in the category of a team ready to contend for the Stanley Cup. Last season’s end was disappointing, to say the least after having won the Metro Division.

This season has been strong as the Canes sit atop the Metro Division again and have done so with solid contributions up and down the roster. Even the AHL roster has contributed greatly this year.

Don Waddell will ask himself and his staff if this group is ready to compete for the Stanley Cup or if the team could use help for a push.

Any team looking to make a run in the playoffs could use extra depth and any good GM would be silly to not check what is out on the market at this time.

Players like Ryan Smyth have literally fallen to a team in the final minutes of a trade deadline. Garth Snow and the New York Islanders were the right teams at the right time to grab him.

After losing Max Pacioretty for the remainder of the season, the team has some salary cap flexibility. Additionally, Waddell obviously had a plan and vision in the off-season for the top six forward lines with a Pacioretty-type player.

Is this deadline a bust if another top player is not acquired?

Not knowing the talk and asking price for each player, it will be hard to determine the final grade but I do not feel that this team has to have a star acquisition.

I do think that another quality scoring forward is needed to keep up with the big boys but not worth losing a player like Seth Jarvis.

Toughness is something that the team could use and it would come at a much cheaper price.