NHL Trade Rumors: Carolina, Colorado are Perfect Trade Partners

NHL Trade Rumors: With Each Team Having Exactly What the Other Needs, Canes-Avalanche Should Be Talking Blockbuster Ahead of Deadline

NHL trade rumors are beginning to ramp up as we near closer to the March 1st deadline. Much of those rumors surround the Colorado Avalanche, who are a complete tire fire at the moment. Within that speculation, we’ve heard Matt Duchene‘s name linked to the Carolina Hurricanes on more than one occasion. This writer, in particular, has discussed the fit, while other analysts have also weighed in on the possibility.

Now, the reason you’re hearing so much chatter about Carolina/Colorado on the trade market is because both clubs seem to have an overabundance of what the other one needs. In Colorado’s case, one of the Canes many left-handed defenders would be a welcomed addition. For the Canes, well, they could use another impact top-six forward – preferably an upgrade at center.

In this scenario, Carolina might add Matt Duchene. It could cost them the likes of Noah Hanifin, or perhaps a prospect package that features one of Jake Bean or Haydn Fleury. Either way, it would have to be a multi-player deal to make it work for both sides, which is a definite possibility.

I’ve recently changed my thought process slightly on the whole notion for a number of reasons. Long story short, I think there’s a serious possibility of a blockbuster deal between the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes. Let me explain:

Carolina Needs to Find Upgrade to Play With Skinner

Remember that Carolina Hurricanes team over the last five years or so that was captained by Eric Staal? Not the one that won a Stanley Cup back in 2006, but the years following. Jim Rutherford left his leader hung out to dry season after season giving him little to play with. Once Ray Whitney left the scene, things got real ugly. In those recent years, they put unreasonable expectations on kids (i.e. Elias Lindholm, Jeff Skinner), and in turn, the team fell short of expectations.

Now, with Eric Staal gone, Skinner has started to blossom and officially kicked that injury-prone tag that plagued him for years at the start of his career. Only problem? We’re back in that nasty cycle where your star player could use a little more talent to play with. If they didn’t learn from Eric, lessons should be learned from the debacle up in Brooklyn with John Tavares. It’s no offense to the likes of Victor Rask or Jordan Staal, but neither are number one center’s – both are solid no.2’s.

The answer is simple. Add Matt Duchene. He’s a no.1 center who struggles to get the proper minutes in that role with Nathan MacKinnon around. The fit makes a lot of sense.

Add Varlamov?

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Here’s where some may disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Cam Ward fan and have been for a very long time. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Cam, consistency is a major issue. Now, that’d be fine if Eddie Lack was pulling his weight, but let’s call a spade a spade, that experiment has been an absolute failure.

So, my thought is this: why not swap goaltenders as part of a bigger blockbuster deal? Calvin Pickard is going to assume the majority of starts anyways, so Lack is an ideal fit (also had success in the Western Conference with Vancouver).

For Carolina, they pay a little more for a lot more insurance, not to mention, a massive upgrade for their tandem. Given the age and contract situation for both, it could be a perfect stop-gap solution until Alex Nedeljkovic is ready to take over the starter role.

A goalie swap could bring with it some confusion in terms of the expansion draft. Carolina would likely be forced to give up a prospect or draft pick in order to have Las Vegas lay off their goalie tandem.

What a Blockbuster Could Look Like

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If these two clubs wanted to make a blockbuster trade happen, then it sounds like Avs GM Joe Sakic will need to lower his asking price. As a neutral party/observer that follows all 30 teams, I wanted to present a hypothetical deal that I believe could work for both sides.

Remember, you have to give up talent to get it in return. It’s easy to develop a personal bias for players when you watch the same team 82 games a year. Sometimes that player you love isn’t as good as you think. At the same time, that guy you hate, that you think is terrible, might be a guy other teams covet. In my opinion, this is fair value going out the door each way:

Colorado Avalanche trade Matt Duchene, Semyon Varlamov ($400k/year retained through 2018-19), and Rocco Grimaldi to Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Noah Hanifin, Eddie Lack, Elias Lindholm, and Roland McKeown

The above deal would leave Colorado with roughly $7-$8 million dollars in cap space with an incoming $6.375 million dollars, and outgoing $11.5 million. For the Hurricanes, they would no longer be the only team flirting with the cap floor, but still would have around $10 million dollars in cap space.