On the Carolina Hurricanes …
Pierre LeBrun of TSN: The Carolina Hurricanes, like the Anaheim Ducks, are drawing plenty of interest in their good, young blueline depth.
“I think everyone is always looking for D and we feel comfortable with our depth there,” Hurricanes GM Ron Francis said Thursday. “We’re always looking at all options to make our team better; if that’s an area of strength and you can address an area of weakness, we’d certainly look at those possibilities.”
The Hurricanes have been scouting the Colorado Avalanche for the past few weeks. The Avs have several players who might be available and are looking for good, young defensemen.
is not sure how interested the Hurricanes would be in Matt Duchene, who has two years left on his deal. Not convinced the Hurricanes would want to trade one of their high-end, young defenseman for someone that could leave in two years as a free agent.
Gabriel Landeskog is locked up longer than Duchene, but he’s a left winger and not a centerman that the Hurricanes may prefer.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings are just a few of the teams that might be interested in their defensemen.
Could the Hurricanes be able to get William Nylander from the Leafs?
The Hurricanes are still in the playoff race, so a deal that helps in the short- and long-term may be desirable.
The Hurricanes also have salary cap space that could come into play.
“We have room, we can help teams out in that regard if they want to do something with us,” Francis said. “But certain teams are looking to buy at this point and not everybody is. You’re more apt to make a more significant hockey trade maybe in the offseason.”