Montreal Canadiens: Four Carolina Hurricanes players to trade for
The Carolina Hurricanes are up for sale this offseason, and the Montreal Canadiens could benefit from targeting a few of their players.
There’s no team with a bigger cloud of mystery around it than the Carolina Hurricanes. The Montreal Canadiens are generating buzz because it looks like Marc Bergevin is sticking to his word, but the Hurricanes have been the hottest topic. It started with the new owner in Tom Dundon, the departure of Ron Francis, and with it, a revamped managerial staff.
Carolina now has former Habs assistant general manager Rick Dudley as it’s Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, Rod Brind’Amor as the new head coach, and Don Waddell as GM.
Despite all that, it looks like Dundon is determined to have a role in the outlook of the team. Take that for what you will. There have been several examples of how strong ownership involvement hurts the success of a team. However, that’s a conversation for a different day.
What’s important is what Carolina has to do with the Montreal Canadiens. It all stems from a Bob McKenzie radio hit on TSN 1050 a few weeks ago. Don’t worry; I’m not going to radio him here or anything as the tweet speaks for itself.
Seeing as how the Hurricanes have been slowly improving over the years but haven’t managed to make the playoffs, it’s no surprise. Goaltending and goal-scoring have been the team’s main issues, but it looks like management feels making everyone available will solve their issues.
The Habs are in an important offseason as well, and fans have a hunch Bergevin is up to something. If his sights landed on the Hurricanes, there are a number of players who could be a fit on the team moving forward.
Shoring up the Centre Depth
Teuvo Teravainen was one of the casualties from a Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory. The team chose to trade him to Carolina after having a good playoff run with 4 goals and 6 assists. He improved offensively in the regular season in his first season with his new team. Teravainen put up 13 goals and 22 assists in 78 games and has seen his totals increase since.
This season was a career-year for Teravainen. He set new highs in goals scored (23) and assists (41) for his first 50+ point season. Unfortunately, that was done with him having stretches on the wing, but he has played centre in the NHL.
Versatility is one of Tervainen’s strengths. He’s one of the better swiss army knives in the NHL as he can play all three forward positions well. The 23-year-old is also as reliable defensively as he is offensively. Teravainen’s speed allows him to get to where he needs to be without missing a step and is rarely caught flat-footed.
He was trusted to play on the special teams where 5 of his 23 goals came on the man advantage.
It would be a mistake to assume he can be a number one centre. His age does leave room for further growth and development though. Right now, he could slot in on Montreal’s second line pushing Phillip Danault and Jacob de La Rose down.
Seeing him on the Habs penalty kill along with Danault and Paul Byron would give it more bite. Teravainen and Byron have the speed to pull free and breakaway if the opportunity arises which could add some more goals to the team.
Top-Pairing Option
Jaccob Slavin completed his third full NHL season as the Hurricanes top-pairing left defenceman. His production took a dip at both ends of the ice, but there are still a lot of aspects of his game that make him a player worth investing in.
The 23-year-old finished the year with 8 goals and 22 assists (4 points fewer than his total from the year before). He has a well-placed shot from the point that finds its way to the net more often than not. Many of his assists have come from rebounds and deflections which work in favour of a team who has skilled forwards to finish the job.
The downside of his season was that more shots seemed to come towards his own net this year than last. Slavin’s Rel CF% dropped from 2.69 to 1.33 at 5v5. Not the most reassuring fact, but it doesn’t take away too much from what makes him a good asset.
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He presents good size at six-foot-three and 205 pounds. He’s not too physical which could hurt his ability to be a full shutdown option on the blueline, but Slavin makes up for that in his awareness and ability to control the puck.
That could be dealt with if Slavin is paired with someone who does play like that. Shea Weber for example. The two could make the affordable duo as their styles compliment each other. The veteran is a threat anywhere he is on the ice and Slavin can support that while bringing his own strengths to the table.
The downside of acquiring him, however, is his contract. Carolina signed him to a seven-year contract that will have him make $5.3 million per season. The Montreal Canadiens may not be willing to take that on, but if they could get rid of one of their bigger deals on defence (Karl Alzner), it could happen.
Creating a Mighty Force
Carolina added to their already deep defensive prospect pool at the 2015 NHL Draft. There was a mystery as to how the rest of the selections would shape up after Connor McDavid, and Jack Eichel were taken, and when the Hurricanes were up, they settled on Noah Hanafin.
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The Boston native made his NHL debut the following October. Since then, Hanafin has fit in nicely on the team’s second pair. It hasn’t come without it’s trying times though. The 21-year-old’s skating and ability to skate with the puck has been on display for the last three years. That has led to a decent amount of offence from Hanafin.
His numbers have increased to a new high this season with 10 goals and 22 assists. Most Hanafin’s production is at even strength, but he is great to see on the power play. His reach and skating have allowed him to lead the second unit of the power play distributing the puck to the forwards but also taking a shot when he has a lane.
Similarly to Slavin, Hanafin could be a candidate to be Weber’s partner. Together they would be an all-around force with the size and skating to overwhelm teams. The only thing is that Hanafin needs work on his play away from the puck. But seeing as how he could have Claude Julien as his head coach, that could be something quickly dealt with.
Bergevin does have a knack for trading for restricted free agents and signing them afterwards. Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Drouin followed that route to become Montreal Canadiens.
Filling a Lind-Hole
When the original report came out, it was surprising to see that Elias Lindholm wasn’t part of the untouchables. The Hurricanes selected him fifth overall in 2013. He put up points at any level he played at be it in Swedish hockey leagues or international tournaments.
Lindholm managed to add some more weight to his goal totals this season with 16 after scoring 11 the previous two years. The easiest way to describe him is a more skilled version of Artturi Lehkonen who plays centre. Lindholm competes whenever and wherever he is on the ice. Additionally, he will go to the dirty areas around the net to generate chances if it means the team can capitalize.
What stands out negatively is his play away from the puck. Carolina sheltered Lindholm starting him in the offensive zone 57.3% of the time this season. Despite that, a lot more shots came against he and his linemates. It was part of the reason for the team’s struggles as they didn’t have the steady goaltending to bail them out.
Age works in his favour though. Lindholm has improved since making his debut back, and there are no signs that his growth will plateau. Seeing as how like Hanafin, he’s an RFA, where that takes place is up for debate.
Again, Lindholm isn’t a number one, but he is a player who can fit in your top six and improve a team’s depth.
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Taking into account the organizational needs of the Montreal Canadiens, these players make the most sense to look into. Dudley may be the new guy in town, but he should have a good memory of what the Habs have and what he feels could work on the Hurricanes. They are far from being go-to trading partners, but stranger things have happened.
Acknowledgements: Cap information from Capfriendly.com, advanced stats from Corsica.hockey