As trade deadline approaches, do Canes have what they need for Stanley Cup playoffs?
With the NHL trade deadline set next Monday, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour says he has had few trade conversations with Don Waddell.
Waddell, as president and general manager, is looking for deals that can make the team better for the grind of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Brind’Amour, as coach, likes the way the team looks now: 41-13-5 and in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 87 points.
“I’m the wrong guy to come to,” Brind’Amour said Saturday. “It would be like, ‘We’re good, I’ve got my team.’ As long as we’re healthy, and hopefully we will be, then we’re fine.
“That’s how that conversation should go. I’ll stay out of the rest of it. I don’t even know how much availability we have to make those kind of moves, with the (salary) cap and everything.”
Barring a hockey trade that would involve, say, a contract moving out, the Canes have little cap space to work with before the March 21 deadline.
Waddell, in an interview with The News & Observer last month, said, “A defenseman would be nice. If you get into a long playoff run, you can easily go through nine or 10 defensemen.”
The solid play of defenseman Jalen Chatfield while Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith have been out with injuries — Chatfield was reassigned Monday to Chicago of the AHL — has enhanced the depth on defense. But more is usually better in the playoffs.
“Depth is important and that is probably the one area where you could say, OK, we could find something,” Brind’Amour said. “But I don’t know that it really changes your team, if you’re healthy.”
The speculation the past few days has been that the biggest Hurricanes news at the deadline could be announcing a contract extension for forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. TSN and other media outlets are surmising Kotkaniemi could receive an eight-year extension worth as much as $4.5 million a year -- Andy Strickland, a Bally Sports Midwest hockey reporter, first reported it based on unnamed sources.
It’s an interesting proposition. A year ago, Kotkaniemi was playing for the Montreal Canadiens and probably not anywhere on the Canes’ radar. Then came the offer sheet by Carolina in late August for the Habs’ restricted free agent — one year, $6.1 million. Now, the Canes could be in the position of making a total investment of more than $40 million in the 21-year-old from Finland.
Kotkaniemi, the No. 3 pick of the 2018 NHL draft, has been used primarily as the fourth-line center this season after a failed attempt initially to use him on the wing. While his offensive numbers are modest — 11 goals and 12 assists in 56 games — he has done enough to impress Brind’Amour.
“His game has gotten better all year,” Brind’Amour said. “What I like about his game is that he sees the ice really well and has a great shot. I want him to use it more. He can really rip it. He needs to get a little stronger on the puck, in faceoffs, really all the stuff that everyone needs to work on.
“I think he’s going to get stronger. There’s a whole window of that, I think, that will come as time goes.”
The phrase “as time goes” might confirm the plan is for Kotkaniemi to remain a Hurricane. And likely to take on a larger role should the Canes reshape their lineup, with decisions to be made on pending unrestricted free agents after the season.
Kotkaniemi has averaged 12 minutes a game in ice time, getting 10:16 on Sunday in the 4-2 road loss to Pittsburgh. In another scheduling quirk, the Canes played an unusual back-to-back, facing the Penguins less than 22 hours after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Raleigh — Kotkaniemi’s line producing the game’s first goal as Steven Lorentz scored.
The Canes have a road game Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will be without forward Auston Matthews, suspended for two games Monday by the NHL. The Canes then return home to face the Washington Capitals to complete a back-to-back and on Sunday host the New York Rangers.
The question then: will they take on a new look on Monday?
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
