For the better part of two months, rumors have continued to swirl about the Carolina Hurricanes trying to make a big splash. They've failed in their conquest twice already, losing out on Quinn Hughes and Rasmus Andersson. It hasn't deterred them from maintaining their push, but their window of opportunity is closing.
At 3 pm today, the Olympic roster freeze goes into effect, preventing teams from making trades while the league pauses for the Winter Games in Italy. The timing is incredibly tricky, especially since the trade deadline comes just over a week after the pause lifts. For many teams, including the Hurricanes, it could mean last-minute efforts to make additions.
Many insiders are reporting that the Hurricanes are actively seeking to do something before the freeze, though it's unclear who they're trying to do business with. The two players at the forefront of many of the conversations surrounding the Canes are Canucks center Elias Pettersson and Rangers winger Artemi Panarin.
A Panarin trade of some kind feels especially likely on Wednesday. The Rangers have held Panarin out for the last several games, signaling that they're trying to get him moved before the Olympics. The window of opportunity continues to shrink with each passing second, with conflicting reports about whether he'll want an extension to be included in the trade.
There are also several conflicting reports about who is involved in the sweepstakes and whether they'll want him with an extension or as a rental. The Canes, obviously, are involved, and throughout the process, so are Washington, Los Angeles, San Jose, Detroit, Colorado, Dallas, and, to some extent, Florida, his preferred destination, and Tampa Bay.
Talks concerning Pettersson are a little quieter, at least not nearly as loud as Panarin. There has been a long-standing interest in the center by the Hurricanes, and, at least for the Hurricanes' needs for another man down the middle, he would make a little more sense. A Pettersson deal likely costs more, because he's under contract for several more seasons and isn't a pending free agent, like Panarin.
I don't want to get anyone's hopes up about the Canes making a deal before the roster freeze begins, but there will be a lot of chatter between now and this afternoon. There's a chance that nothing happens today, and things kick into overdrive when play resumes at the end of the month. Or Wednesday could turn into a chaotic day that changes the trajectory of the playoff race.