Équipe: 2022-23 Hurricanes de la Caroline

Date de création initiale: 10 juill. 2022

Publié: 10 juill. 2022

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

Alright, so the reasoning behind this has to do with trading away Tony DeAngelo. You might think the return was good but ultimately, trading away your top Offensive defenseman who is ALSO right handed was a terrible decision with how awful the UFA Market on defensemen is this offseason, Klingberg is severely overrated and is likely a worse DeAngelo that will get paid even more than he has been given by the Devils.

To make up for this I propose that the Hurricanes should instead aquire cheaper DEFENSIVE defenseman to give the team extremely strong defense on back end, and then use the extra money on acquiring high end Forwards to get a RIDICULOUSLY stacked offense.

To begin the Canes should trade out Martinook's contract to clear up almost $2 Million to help fill out the depth. Martinook is basically a detriment to the team and does nothing but scream so getting the contract out will need a sweetener, which is why I have included Ethan Bear, who will need top 4 minutes on a team with a weak blueline along with a 3rd and 4th round pick in the STACKED 2023 draft. It doesn't really matter a ton what team gets him as long as they're Rebuilding AND very weak on defensemen. Thought the Habs filled out both since they are trying to trade out Jeff Petry I believe which opens up that top Right Hand spot for them. This trade can be done with the Kraken, Hawks or another team looking for a young RHD with fairly good potential.

Next is clearing out Jake Gardiner's contract which has a single year left. For this I targeted a team with a weak right side that would want to try to be competitive next season. Given the Ducks are trying to get better I assume they would be fine taking on 1 year of Gardiner. He is now healthy and cleared to play next season starting at training camp so they can use him to help ease the pressure on Drysdale having to carry the blueline and not need to rush in a very talented prospect like Zellweger. I feel like a 3rd round pick in a strong draft is enough compensation to get that move done.

Lastly for trades is the big blockbuster deal bringing in Patrick Kane on his final year with the Blackhawks who are cleaning the house out. There will need to be some retention here to make the deal done so I put it at a little under 50%. Shouldn't be an issue as the Hawks need to hit the cap floor anyways. Now, I think the price for him shouldn't be an issue for Hawks fans especially with the disaster that was the recent Alex DeBrincat trade. But Canes fans' I completely understand if some of you think this is a HUGE price to give up for Kane. But hear me out.
Patrick Kane put up 92 points (26+66) last season on an absolutely AWFUL Hawks team with only him and DeBrincat there to do most of the work. This is the arguably best American player in NHL history and phenomenal playmaker who boosts the scoring of anyone on his line. It's a large price for a 1 year rental but a full season of him is WELL worth it especially with the talent the Canes can put on a line with him. And lets not forget his THREE stanley cups he's won, helping lead his team each time, that invaluable experience for a young Canes forward group that struggled to produce this last playoffs. The team has a LOADED prospect pool so having top picks in the next two drafts really isn't important with the great young core the team has and the talent still yet to come up. I feel as thought his move helps balance out the fact that the defense will be basically incapable of scoring. However, it will allow forwards to do anything they want offensively.

Now for the Free agent acquisitions. I chose 2 guys that were in their primes and will be able to fill out the middle of our lineup in a more shutdown role, but still able to chip in offensively on that Staal centered line.

- I decided that Andrew Copp and Ilya Mihkeyev are both really close players to help offset the loss of Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter. And should be fantastic 2 way players on a line with Staal and they can also be put on the PK when need be to keep everyone fresh all game long. Rod Brind'Amour should highly value these two players and what they bring to his system.

- Now for the Free agent defensemen, I chose two strong 3rd pairing guys who offer pretty much ONLY good consistent and reliable defense. Even though they provide very little offensively. I went with Brett Kulak and Jan Rutta as they both fill out that role very well and have both gotten a lot of playoff experience in recent years.

Hopefully this all seems fair enough and somewhat realistic, though I fear the Canes will make the mistake of bringing in Klingberg and not boosting the forward group with what they desperately need to succeed consistently. I do understand that this is a very unique build for a team that hasn't really been done before to my memory but I think this roster fits the brand of hockey Carolina enjoys to play. Please feel free to comment and discuss below all your thoughts!

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