A bridge for Svechnikov? Hurricanes need for secondary scoring and Gardiner
Sara Civian of The Athletic: (mailbag) Believe that the Carolina Hurricanes will sign restricted free agent forward Andrei Svechnikov to a bridge contract with a salary cap hit between $7 and $8 million.
One of the Hurricanes’ postseason issues was secondary scoring and it’s one area – a top-six forward – that they seemed to fail to address this offseason so far. The Hurricanes have been linked to Vladimir Tarasenko. The need to address the issue even if it’s not Tarasenko.
The Hurricanes won’t be buying out defenseman Jake Gardiner. Arthur Staple reported earlier this month that he might have been an option for Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders but he’s needing surgery and may not be ready when the season gets underway. He has a back issue and has been told some contradictory things.
Kaprizov trade options may be limited
Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News: 24-year old restricted free agent forward Kirill Kaprizov reportedly has a $10 million-ish contract offer from CSKA of the KHL. His name could come up in the rumor mill.
The Athletic’s Micheal Russo said that Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin may be willing to move to mid-range options from the seven- or eight-year deal they’d been seeking. It’s doubtful the Wild would trade his rights.
If the Wild were to consider trading Kaprizov, the number of teams that would be able to fit in a big contract would limited. 11 teams have over $10 million in cap space, but many of those teams have other issues that need to be addressed.
The Columbus Blue Jackets need a first-line center. The Carolina Hurricanes need to re-sign Andrei Svechnikov. The Ottawa Senators have Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson, the New York Islanders Anthony Beauvillier, and the Vancouver Canucks Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.
The Nashville Predators can’t eat too far into the cap for 2022-23 as they have UFAs Filip Forsberg and Mattias Ekholm after next season. The Calgary Flames have Johnny Gaudreau that they may look to extend.
Three potential fits could be the Buffalo Sabres (previous links involving Jack Eichel), Anaheim Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings.