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What are the Hurricanes’ trade deadline plans?

March 28, 2021, 3:43 PM ET [7 Comments]
Ben Shelley
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The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the league’s top teams this year and look as though they could do some damage in the postseason. But with the trade deadline just a couple of weeks away, will they look to make any upgrades?

It seems as though if the Hurricanes made a move, it could be a fairly minor one. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Hurricanes were interested in defenseman Travis Hamonic, though the defender is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause.

General manager Don Waddell had said the team could look to add a right-handed defenseman, so it’s not shocking to hear the Hurricanes had interest in Hamonic. Even if Hamonic isn’t going to be the guy that Carolina adds, it does give some insight as to what kind of defender the Hurricanes are looking for, being someone who could hopefully help to prevent chances, rather than put up points.

Heading into the season, I would’ve questioned why the Hurricanes would ever look to add a defender, given the surplus of bodies they have on the blue line. However, Carolina doesn’t have a ton of defensemen who are as reliable in their own end as they are on the scoresheet. Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin can be counted on in tough situations but Jake Bean, Haydn Fleury, Dougie Hamilton and Brady Skjei have all struggled at times. If the Hurricanes feel that they’re a legitimate contender, which I’d argue they are, adding a shutdown defender to play on the right side is a good move.

Waddell also said that the Hurricanes could look move a goaltender at the deadline (as noted in an article from The Athletic). It’s a pretty interesting turn of events, given that goaltending was their key area of weakness heading into the year. I do wonder what the market would be for James Reimer, however, who has posted just a .907 save percentage but is on an expiring contract, which carries a $3.4 million AAV.

So it seems as though if a player is coming in, we’re probably looking at a right-shot depth defender and if someone is getting moved, it could be one of the team’s netminders. Perhaps we’ll see a larger move made if Carolina wants to go all-in this year but I’d expect the Hurricanes avoid making any significant upgrades.



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What should the Hurricanes look to do at the trade deadline?
Add a top player
Add a depth player
Avoid any moves

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