The Minnesota Wild's recent acquisition of Quinn Hughes has some observers wondering if they'll pursue a center. Meanwhile, Pyotr Kochetkov's season-ending injury could send the Hurricanes into the trade market for goaltending depth.
The Minnesota Wild made what could be the biggest trade of this season when they acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks last month.
In the 11 games since that deal went down, the 27-year-old defenseman has 12 points, while the Wild have a record of 7-1-3 during that stretch.
As big as the Hughes trade was, Wild GM Bill Guerin might not be done.
Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic believe Guerin wouldn't have acquired Hughes if the Wild weren't in "win-now" mode. They think he'll attempt another major move to boost his club's depth at center.
PuckPedia indicates the Wild have over $12.9 million in trade deadline cap space, giving them plenty of room to take on another high-salaried star. Russo and Smith believe Guerin will draw on his draft picks and prospect depth for trade bait, but didn't indicate which center he might pursue in the trade market.
Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames frequently surfaced in the rumor mill when his club was mired near the bottom of the standings earlier this season. However, Flames ownership insisted that Kadri's not going anywhere. That's even less likely to happen with the Flames within striking distance of a wild-card spot.
The same goes for Ryan O'Reilly of the Nashville Predators. They're not about to move him when they've clawed their way back into wild-card contention. On Dec. 19, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported the 34-year-old center isn't ready to consider a trade, leaving LeBrun skeptical that he'll be moved at all this season.
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Meanwhile, in Carolina, there's concern over the Hurricanes' goaltending depth.
Pyotr Kochetkov recently underwent season-ending surgery for a nagging lower-body issue. Oft-injured Frederik Andersen is healthy but struggling with just five wins in 17 starts. Callup Brandon Bussi has played well, but whether he can handle the heavy workload for the rest of this season remains to be seen.
The Hurricanes have a whopping $37.3 million of trade deadline cap space to bolster their roster depth. Justin Pelletier of The Raleigh News & Observer believes GM Eric Tulsky should prioritize adding a goaltender before the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
Pelletier mentioned Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, but acknowledged his poor stats this season wouldn't make him much of an upgrade. He also brought up Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and Devin Cooley of the Flames. However, it's unlikely that either netminder is available, given that both have new contracts kicking in on July 1.
Tulsky will likely remain patient and see how Bussi and Andersen handle things. If they struggle, he could be forced to shop around for help between the pipes.
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