The NHL Trade Deadline is just a week away and the Carolina Hurricanes are essentially a guaranteed playoff team, so that means... drumroll please...
*badadada*
Shopping Time!
At the start of the season, there was a lot of chatter about how the Hurricanes should target a goaltender to shore up their group, but with the emergence of Pyotr Kochetkov coupled with the imminent return of Frederik Andersen, that's not going to happen.
The defense is also the deepest blueline from 1-6 in the league and with Tony DeAngelo looking extremely steady in his recent stretch of games, they don't really have a need there either.
So that leaves everybody's favorite position group: Forward.
Carolina has a solid team from top to bottom, but there is a definitive lack of scoring depth outside the starting lineup.
An injury or two could really derail the group if there isn't a bit more depth to supplement it.
So who's available and who could the Hurricanes target by the March 8 deadline?
Let's take a look at some names.
*The players are presented in alphabetical order. I'm not advocating for any one particular player. It's just a list of some names to keep track of.
Pavel Buchnevich - STL
24G, 48P, 57GP
28, LW, L
Contract Status: One more year with a $5.8 million AAV
Pavel Buchnevich's name has been tossed around a bit and if he is available, he's a guy that can instantly make a team better.
He's on pace for his third straight 25+ goal season and will easily hit 30 barring any injuries.
He's also a high-end playmaker and a strong two-way player overall that can play in all situations.
The only caveat is that Buchnevich comes with a high, high price. We're talking multiple first-round picks / first-round pick adjacent value.
If he's dealt it will be as part of a hockey trade.
Anthony Duclair - SJS
13G, 22P, 53GP
28, LW, L
Contract Status: Last year with a $3 million AAV
Anthony Duclair had a huge breakout with the Florida Panthers two years ago, and then wound up on the San Jose Sharks. From the golden gates of competition to the pits of irrelevance.
But Duclair's still a speedy winger with good hands, so he could be nice bottom-six piece.
He isn't one for playmaking nor is he a strong forechecker, so the fit may not be quite right for Carolina, but if they simply want to add some cheap scoring touch, this is a place to look.
Jordan Eberle - SEA
14G, 35P, 55GP
33, RW, R
Contract Status: Last year with a $5.5 million AAV
Despite his age, Jordan Eberle has continued to be good play driving, two-way winger.
The 2008 first-round pick has been a consistent 20-goal scorer for the majority of his career and he brings a lot of other positive value as well in terms of playmaking and play driving.
He won't wow you by any means, but Eberle could easily be a solid depth piece to elevate a playoff roster and hey, he did reach 60 points last season.
Claude Giroux
18G, 52P, 57GP
36, C/LW, R
Contract Status: One more year with a $6.5 million AAV
Make no mistake, Claude Giroux still has *it*.
At 36 years old, he's still nearly a point-per-game player and will hit the 20 goal mark for the 11th time. He's already broken 50 points too.
He's an effective two-way player, an elite playmaker, a right-handed faceoff man who's career average hovers around 60%, an accomplished veteran and so much more.
There's so much to like with Giroux and if he actually wants to leave Ottawa to go to a competitor (a big if being that he signed there last season), then Carolina should be happy to part with some assets to bring him in.
Jake Guentzel - PIT
22G, 52P, 50GP
29, LW/RW, L
Contract Status: Last year with a $6 million AAV
Is Pittsburgh selling?
If they are, will they trade in division?
Those are two very important questions that have to be answered first, but if each is a yes, than there is not a single player on the market with more proven offense than Jake Guentzel.
Not only is he an elite scorer, but he's an elite playmaker as well.
Kyle Dubas has said he wants to make the Penguins younger, but does moving Guentzel make them better?
I'm not sure, but if he's available, why not take a swing.
Adam Henrique - ANA
17G, 41P, 58GP 34, C, L Contract Status: Last year with a $5.825 million AAV
Ideally, the Canes would target a true 2C this year, but there is not a single one available on the market right now. In fact, the only real center option worth anything is Adam Henrique.
Henrique could provide some solid depth for the Canes' center group. He's still got a scoring touch, wins faceoffs and can still forecheck.
However, he isn't much for foot speed and I'm not sure if he could fit into Carolina's up-tempo style. But it wasn't too much of an issue for a guy like Paul Stastny last year.
Anthony Mantha - WSH
18G, 32P, 54GP
29, RW, L
Contract Status: Last year of a $5.7 million AAV
Surprisingly, I have not heard a lot about Anthony Mantha this season and I'm not too sure why. He's on an expiring deal, on a team that won't make the playoffs and he's on pace for over 20 goals.
He's scoring at a ridiculous rate (shooting over 20% will do that) so it's probably not sustainable, but Mantha is still a player known for having a good shot and his defensive game has been superb.
He could be a really interesting player to toss into a contender's middle-six.
Casey Mittelstadt - BUF
13G, 45P, 60GP
25, C, L
Contract Status: Last year with a $2.5 million AAV (RFA - Arb.)
The second 'hockey trade' on my board, a deal for Casey Mittelstadt could be an interesting one.
He's really grown into his game starting last season after floundering for a while in Buffalo.
He's now become a high-end playmaker who has a bit of a scoring touch as well.
He's really good off the rush and defensively sound to boot.
Buffalo has let his contract run to the end while nearly everyone else on that team has gotten big, long-term deals.
Is that a sign that he's on the outside looking in? If so, perhaps Don Waddell should give Kevyn Adams a call because that could be your 2C right there.
Reilly Smith - PIT
10G, 25P, 51GP
32, RW, L
Contract Status: One more year with a $5 million AAV
Reilly Smith is a player that does pretty much everything well. He doesn't really excel in any one particular area, but he's a jack-of-all-trades type of player.
So he's the perfect type of player you'd love to grab for some added depth because you can really play him anywhere in the lineup.
The one issue is that he is owed $5 million for another season past this one.
Vladimir Tarasenko - OTT
15G, 38P, 55GP
32, RW, L
Contract Status: Last year with a $5 million AAV
The one-time former Cane could turn out to be a Cane after all if the team is interested in him.
Ottawa is once again floundering at the bottom of the standings so that means those veterans they added in the offseason are ripe for trades.
Tarasenko is not the player he once was, but he's still a solid player offensively. He could easily still get to 20 goals and 50 points on the season, but the one caveat is that he won't play a lick of defense, but if you're Carolina, you could potentially cover for that.
Frank Vatrano - ANA
27G, 46P, 58GP
29, LW/RW, L
Contract Status: One more year with $3.65 million AAV
Frank Vatrano is one of the more popular names out on the market right now and for good reason too.
He's a goal scorer on pace for over 30 this season and a lot of teams would love to add that sort of scoring help.
However, Vatrano does have a bit of buyer beware. 1) He's currently on the highest single-season shooting percentage of his career. 2) That causes prices to go way up. 3) He doesn't offer much else if he isn't scoring.
He's speedy, snarly and he shoots the puck.
That's about it, but that's exactly the sort of thing teams love to have.