1 trade every NHL team should make

Carolina Hurricanes

Speaking of teams taking advantage of desperate situations, the Carolina Hurricanes should be calling the Los Angeles Kings about Cam Ward. With Jonathan Quick out until March, the 2013-14 Stanley Cup champions are looking to upgrade their goaltending. Peter Budaj has been fine, but Jeff Zatkoff has been a significant issue. Ward would be an upgrade over Zatkoff and could do well in a tandem role with the Kings.

The main reason Zatkoff is in this trade is so the Hurricanes have a goalie to expose in the expansion draft. He’ll likely be in the AHL for the 2017-18 season, especially if Carolina decides to wisely overhaul their goaltending. The combined value of being rid of Zatkoff and adding a former Stanley Cup champion like Ward is roughly equal to a third round pick. Factor in the Kings’ desperation and a second round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft is quite plausible.

Are there better goalies for the Kings to pursue? Absolutely, and this will be covered later. But not all those goaltenders are going to be available. Also, other teams will be looking for goaltending. Even those who aren’t right now might be if an injury occurs. Just ask the Edmonton Oilers about how quickly your goaltending depth can disappear. The goalie market is often fickle and hard to predict. But this year, it could be a seller’s market.