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Over the next week or so, I’ll be looking at six free agents who the Hurricanes could target this offseason. Recently, I’ve looked at the possibility of signing either Corey Crawford, Evgenii Dadonov, Mike Hoffman or Braden Holtby and today’s player profile will focus on Mikael Granlund.
Granlund is coming off a down year, where he scored just 30 points in 63 games, however, he was on pace for 22 goals (per 82 games). More importantly, he’s also just two seasons removed from a 70-point pace, which he accomplished with Minnesota.
I’m not sure that Granlund will bounce back to nearly 70 points again but there’s certainly a good chance that he could provide 20 goals and around 55 points on a consistent basis. If the Hurricanes could lock up Granlund on a five-year deal at around $5.5 million per year, similar to what New York gave Jordan Eberle after his down year in 2018-19, Granlund could end up being an excellent addition. He’s still just 28 years old and could add some scoring on the second line while playing on the wing.
As was the case with Dadonov or Hoffman, Carolina could only make this move if they address their goaltending first. However, this could potentially be a cheap enough addition that the Hurricanes may be able to add a goalie at a reasonable price as well.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Reviewing last week's polls (September 7): Hurricanes Edition SHORT READ: Hurricanes announce affiliation deal with Chicago Wolves Hurricanes acquire draft pick from Canadiens for rights to Joel Edmundson SHORT READ: Hurricanes loan Dominik Bokk Offseason Plan (Part One): Examining Carolina’s cap situation Offseason Plan (Part Two): Who can be traded to clear cap space? Reviewing this week's polls (September 19): Hurricanes Edition Free Agency Options (Hurricanes Edition): Corey Crawford Free Agency Options (Hurricanes Edition): Evgenii Dadonov Free Agency Options (Hurricanes Edition): Mike Hoffman Free Agency Options (Hurricanes Edition): Braden Holtby