The Carolina Hurricanes are primed to embark on their seventh straight playoff run and are expected to add a key player from between now and the trade deadline in March.
Part of what makes the Hurricanes strong two-way lineup so consistent is it is always a sum larger than its parts. But at the same time, this construction works against them when push comes to shove in the spring as the Canes are always seems like they are one piece short from jumping over the hurdle.
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Last season, they added the market's most valued trade chip in forward Jake Guentzel, but it all led to a six-game exit against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final.
With all of the Hurricanes' first-round picks still in tact, general manager Eric Tulsky is reportedly looking to be an aggressive buyer this season; the missing piece will once again be adding a skilled forward.
Since Guentzel signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the offseason, the Hurricanes never replaced him.
"Carolina likely only has one deadline move in them," Seravalli wrote on Tuesday. For most of this season, the thought process has been that the Hurricanes would use those resources on a goaltender. They perused the market, but prices were high for even backup options. Now, Freddie Andersen is nearing a return and Dustin Tokarski has been fine. So the Canes may well pivot and move toward a skilled forward to add to the mix."
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This puts the Hurricanes in the ring for either of the Vancouver Canucks' top assets in forwards J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson, but Miller has a no-movement clause in his contract while Pettersson's won't kick in until next season. Both players carry a lot of term as well with Miller bringing over five years and Pettersson fresh off of a recent deal with seven.
Brock Nelson is also likely to be moved after spending the first decade-plus of his NHL career with the Islanders. Even though Carolina owns the draft capital to splurge, Nelson offers the most affordable price as a rental becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Chicago's Taylor Hall, who owns 41 points in 40 games at 33-years-old, also becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and could slide fittingly into the top of Carolina's forward depth.
Between the top two lines, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho project as the only locks to remain in the top six, so there is flexibility to add an impact player into the fold.
Necas is stepping up with a breakout season as the team's leading point scorer after he was re-signed to a two-year extension in the summer to avoid salary arbitration.
"We looked at a lot of things with a lot of (trade) options to consider, nothing got to where it made sense," Tulsky told The Athletic in November. "We know he had this kind of upside, so part of the conversation was always that he had two more RFA years, and let's see if he hits (his) upside before we think about any other options."
In terms of what they're willing to pay, Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reports that they are likely willing to invest in one big move.
Jack Roslovic, who the Hurricanes signed to a one-year deal last summer, has been nothing more than adequate on the first line, but he's produced 25 points in 44 games.
He was a scramble decision by Tulsky when negotiations with Guentzel went awry, so it was almost always inevitable that the Hurricanes would wait to grab their boost until the deadline.
No price should be too large; this core as it is hasn't proved they can go the distance.
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