Hurricanes have No. 2 pick in draft. What does Dundon want to do?
The NHL draft lottery was good to the Carolina Hurricanes, landing them the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
“We’re very fortunate,” Canes owner Tom Dundon said. “It definitely makes it easier to do what we’re trying to do here. Every little thing helps. It’s just a little thing, right?”
Reminded that recent No. 2 draft picks include such players as Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets and Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, impact players who can quickly help transform a franchise, Dundon qualified his comments.
“This isn’t about one player," he said. "We’ll be thrilled to hopefully get a good player, but there’s so much more we need to do to be consistently competitive. It takes a lot more than that.
“But, yes, it’s obviously great news. Two is better than 11.”
That’s where the Hurricanes were slotted in the 2018 draft before the lottery — in the No. 11 position in the first round. But by being a lottery winner Saturday, they jumped into the No. 2 spot behind the Buffalo Sabres, who won the first overall selection, while the Montreal Canadiens will pick third.
It’s almost a given the Sabres, badly needing to bolster their defense, will use the top pick on Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
“There’s zero doubt,” Dundon said.
And after Dahlin? There may be no clear-cut No. 2 pick, no one like Laine in 2016 or Sabres center Jack Eichel the year before.
“Now, we have to do the right thing," Dundon said. "We want to know all our options.”
Could that mean trading the pick, using it as a bargaining chip?
“I don’t know that we’ll ever be in a position to say you can rule something out,” Dundon said. “It’s very unlikely you’re going to ever rule anything out with us, I imagine.”
That’s been the new owner’s M.O. so far — an unpredictability. Few would have thought in his first few months he would have fired former general manager Ron Francis, a Hockey Hall of Fame member well-respected throughout the NHL and a Hurricanes legend.
But Dundon sounded like someone who intends to go home to Dallas for the NHL Draft in June prepared to pick a player that can be fit into the Canes’ lineup and make a difference as a rookie.
“There are some elite offensive players,” he said. “The preliminary feedback we’ve gotten is we feel good about what’s there.”
Russian forward Andrei Svechnikov has produced a lot of positive feedback. A 40-goal scorer for the Barrie Colts this season in the Ontario Hockey League, he could be capable of giving the Canes something badly needed — another sniper, an offensive finisher.
Laine has quickly helped the Jets become a playoff team and possible Stanley Cup contender, scoring 36 goals as a rookie in 2016-17 and 44 this season. Tyler Seguin was taken second by the Boston Bruins in 2010 and won a Stanley Cup before being traded to the Dallas Stars, developing into a five-time NHL All-Star forward who scored a career-high 40 goals this season.
The last time the Hurricanes had the second overall pick, in 2003, it was an easy choice. Having drafted goalie Cam Ward the year before, they had their sights on center Eric Staal after the Pittsburgh Penguins took goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Three years later, Staal was a 100-point scorer in the regular season and the leading scorer in the playoffs during the Canes run to the Stanley Cup. He would be a team captain, setting franchise records.
The Pens had the No. 2 pick in both 2004 and 2006, bringing in centers Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. In 2005, with the No. 1 pick, they got Sidney Crosby. Quite a fortuitous run.
Rick Dudley, hired Tuesday as the Canes’ senior vice president of hockey operations, did a lot of amateur scouting for the Canadiens the past few years and has analyzed the top-end prospects for this year's draft.
“You're getting a player that's going to help you a ton,” Dudley said. “At the top, in this draft, there are players who can change a franchise."
A year ago, the Canes had the 12th pick of the first round and took Czech center Martin Necas, a player the Canes scouts had rated in the top 10. Necas made his NHL debut with Carolina early this past season, but returned to the Czech Republic for another year in his country’s top pro league and won a championship.
Necas on Tuesday was named to the Czech team for the IIHF World Championship in Denmark.
“He’s definitely better than 12,” Dundon said. “Our internal organization is pretty happy about what’s happened with him this year. He’ll come back bigger, faster, stronger. Now we have Necas and whoever we get at No. 2.”
That is, if the Canes don't decide to trade the pick.
“You have to figure out if someone feels better about being up there than you do,” Dundon said. “We’ll find out. It’s a good problem to have.”
No. 2 picks in NHL Draft since 2000
2017 — Nolan Patrick, forward, Philadelphia Flyers
2016 — Patrik Laine, forward, Winnipeg Jets
2015 — Jack Eichel, forward, Buffalo Sabres
2014 — Sam Reinhart, forward, Buffalo Sabres
2013 — Aleksander Barkov, forward, Florida Panthers
2012 — Ryan Murray, defenseman, Columbus Blue Jackets
2011 — Gabriel Landeskog, forward, Colorado Avalanche
2010 — Tyler Seguin, forward, Boston Bruins
2009 — Victor Hedman, defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning
2008 — Drew Doughty, defenseman, Los Angeles Kings
2007 — James van Riemsdyk, forward, Philadelphia Flyers
2006 — Jordan Staal, forward, Pittsburgh Penguins
2005 — Bobby Ryan, forward, Anaheim Ducks
2004 — Evgeni Malkin, forward, Pittsburgh Penguins
2003 — Eric Staal, forward, Carolina Hurricanes
2002 — Kari Lehtonen, goalie, Atlanta Thrashers
2001 — Jason Spezza, forward, Ottawa Senators
2000 — Dany Heatley, forward, Atlanta Thrashers
This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Hurricanes have No. 2 pick in draft. What does Dundon want to do?."