3 trades the Carolina Hurricanes need to make this offseason

Carolina Hurricanes: Trade Jordan Staal

Jordan Staal is a good player. During his career he has been a fairly consistent 45-point scorer and provides great two-way play. At age 31 he’s still a positive force at even strength, posting a 55.9 Corsi for percentage this season.

However, he scored just eight goals this season and topped out at 27 points in 68 games in 2019-20. With a cap hit of $6 million, that’s simply not enough for a potential second-line center.

Now, it’s fair to say that this season could have been an anomaly for Staal, and that he’s a player that would help the Canes in their pursuit of contender status. However, with players like Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton due for contracts after next season, they may not have the luxury of hoping that Staal can recapture his game.

The Hurricanes could trade Staal now while his value is still somewhat in tact and collect some draft picks, young assets or even another player in return. The Canes even have a potential replacement for him within the organization.

With acquisition of center Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline and the young Martin Necas waiting in the wings to take on a larger role with the team, Staal’s position on the Canes may be redundant.

Staal has been a fixture of hockey in Carolina for the past seven years and it would be difficult to move on from a player that has fought through some frustrating years with the franchise only to move on from him once the team is ready to take the next step.

However, the Hurricanes may be reaching a point in which Staal’s cost and declining offensive role may no longer justify his abilities as a defensive forward and leader on the team. In fact, Staal may be more useful to the Hurricanes as a bargaining piece in attaining another player or asset that could help put them over the top.

The Hurricanes could likely keep Staal and still make other moves in order to get them into a position of contention. However, sometimes history favors the bold. In a conference that features a plethora of teams who aren’t shy to shake things up in order to stay at the top, the Canes may want to consider making a splash this offseason in order to take the step forward that many were anticipating of them this season.

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