Carolina Hurricanes To Move Four Defensemen?

There's been months, if not years, of speculation surrounding the Carolina Hurricanes and their defensive depth, but now as the team has started playing well and is pushing closer to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference things are heating up.

Today, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic is reporting that the Hurricanes are willing to move one of their top-four defensemen, and noted that both Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce are generating interest from teams around the league. Carolina is interested in landing another top-six forward, especially given that pending free agent Micheal Ferland is “all but gone” according to LeBrun.

The Hurricanes have already indicated that Jaccob Slavin is the untouchable one on the blue line, so trading a top-four option would likely come down to Hamilton, Pesce or former co-captain Justin Faulk. Calvin de Haan also has a claim to a top-four role of his own, but between just signing with the Hurricanes in the summer and not being part of the right side of the ice, his availability seems more unlikely.

The fact that the Hurricanes are listening to a potential trade of this proportion should not surprise anyone. This is the team that has gotten rid of Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask, Noah Hanifin and Jeff Skinner in the last six months as they try to find a new identity under owner Tom Dundon and Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Dundon has made it clear that he wants to win and win now, so it tells me that they’re going to need more scoring to accomplish that goal.

Hamilton and Pesce both represent the biggest targets for other teams around the league, but they come with different financial situations. Hamilton is signed for two years after this season and comes with a $5.75MM cap hit. After starting the season strong he has seen his minutes reduced, playing fewer than 20 minutes in 16 of his last 20 appearances. Pesce’s ice time, on the other hand, is in a much different situation. He is logging four of his top-five totals in this month alone including nearly 23 minutes in a win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. The 24-year old also comes with five additional seasons under contract at a reasonable $4.025MM cap hit, which may make his contract more attractive to teams as the deadline nears.

It's still very unclear on if one of the Hurricanes defensemen is going to be moved at all. As the trade deadline nears, that may change. One thing is for certain, though. The Hurricanes are in a win-now mode and that could be a big risk between this team continuing to climb for eliteness in the future or taking it baby steps. However, Tom Dundon has moved things in a fast-pace direction and we'll see if some Hurricanes are jettisoned before the end of the deadline in order to fulfill his wishes.