Hurricanes Looking to Move Defenseman per Report
Sportsnet Insider, Elliotte Friedman, reported last night on Hockey Night in Canada, that the Carolina Hurricanes are apparently considering moving one of their seven defensemen.
The Hurricanes entered training camp with nine NHL defensemen under contract and have reduced that number down to seven 12 games into the season with Caleb Jones having been traded to the Colorado Avalanche and Dylan Coghlan being reassigned to the AHL.
The issues with playing seven defenseman became apparent at the start of the season when Jalen Chatfield and Tony DeAngelo were jockeying for ice time, but once veteran blueliner Brett Pesce went down with a lower-body injury against the Seattle Kraken, which required surgery and a two to four week timeline, the defense sorted itself out... at least for the time being.
However with Pesce supposedly nearing a return date, the Canes will be back in the same position they were previously in, hence why they are reportedly looking to make a move.
According to Friedman, the most likely move is looking to be Tony DeAngelo.
"The name I'm hearing a lot out there is Tony DeAngelo," Friedman said. "But there are other things that the Carolina Hurricanes will potentially consider."
DeAngelo, who has played in all 12 games with the Hurricanes this season, has just five assists so far with three of those being secondary power play assists.
According the NaturalStatTrick.com, DeAngelo has had the worst defensive metrics on the team with the highest chances against per 60 (58.41), goals against per 60 (3.76), expected goals against per 60 (2.71) and high-danger chances against per 60 (14.19) all while generating middle of the road offensive chances.
His contract is also one of the easiest to move at just one year, $1.675 million
However, DeAngelo hasn't been the only Hurricanes blueliner to struggle this year and the power play has really started to find its stride with him quarterbacking the top unit even though he's not getting on the scoresheet.
Like Friedman said, there may be other things the Hurricanes will consider, but as of right now, this is what is being reported.
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