Andrej Sekera is next up in our Trade Target series, a closer look players who could be dealt leading up to the March 2nd trade deadline. Written by Peter Harling, who can be found on twitter @pharling.
With three points in his last six games, Andrej Sekera is driving his trade value up by the game.
The Slovakian defender may represent the best available option of the remaining defensemen on the open market. This may come as a surprise to some, or you may think the pickings must be pretty slim, but in fact Sekera is he’s a highly underrated NHL defenceman.
At 28-years old he is squarely in his prime years for a defenceman in the NHL. Sekera has decent size at six feet and 200 pounds but he is by no means a physically imposing defender. He is commonly known as a reliable defender who blocks a lot of shots, logs a lot of minutes and is a good possession player. However, last season Sekera enjoyed a career year setting personal high in goals (11), assists (33) and points (44) scoring at a 0.59 point per game pace and leading the Hurricanes in defense scoring and blocked shots (127). He was the only defender with a positive plus/minus at plus-4 while averaging 23:40 minutes of ice time a night. Last season’s offensive outbreak has established the left handed defender as more than just a defensive shot blocker. He is not out of place on the power play and is effective at moving the puck up the ice in transition as well.
The Hurricanes are on the outside looking in at the playoff race and have a very god chance at the third overall selection at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and a chance to add Noah Hanifin. Regardless of the draft, Sekera is on an expiring contract and will look to command between $5.5 and $6 million as an unrestricted free agent come July. By moving Sekera now, they not only will acquire assets for him and not lose the player for nothing, but his departure for picks or prospects would help the team secure a higher draft position in June.
The Hurricanes defensive depth can handle the loss of Sekera as well, as it would entrench Justin Faulk and Ryan Murphy as the team’s top pairing. Tim Gleasson, Ron Hainsey, and John-Michael Liles provide some veteran support rounding out the top five spots allowing prospects such as Michal Jordan and Haydn Fleury to compete for ice time. The cap savings could also be used to sign a free agent in the offseason.
Carolina GM Ron Francis will be looking to add futures such as draft picks or prospects in return for Sekera, ideally a first round pick. The Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli trade has established the market value and if Francis is able to package a player like Jay McClement (also a UFA) that would be a very close comparison to what Nashville GM David Poile gave up – a first round pick and prospect Brendan Leipsic for Franson and Santorelli.
Several teams are in the hunt for a defenceman including the Kings, Rangers, Lightning, Penguins and Red Wings and all could use Sekera. Like Jeff Petry, Sekera could be extremely useful to a team that is missing a top-pairing defenceman, such as Anaheim with Sami Vatanen. Once the player returns Sekera, could slide down the depth chart providing solid depth. Perhaps the best fit would be on the Rangers where Sekera could pair with a right handed Dan Boyle.
HERO chart from OwnThePuck
From Gus Katsaros of McKeen’s Hockey
