Last week Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet piqued quite a bit of interest with his inclusion of the Vancouver Canucks as a “stealth team” for Noah Hanifin, and this morning he was asked about his thoughts on the subject. Hanifin is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer but had previously been considered off limits thanks to his high draft pedigree and solid young career. Friedman’s comments though—as relayed by Sportsnet 650’s Rick Dhaliwal on Twitter—bring up the idea that a big package has been thrown around to try and pull the defenseman away from the Carolina Hurricanes:
I believe that the Canucks have shown interest in Hanifin, and I believe that whatever they’ve talked about the Hurricanes haven’t discounted it.
Look, I know this is going to go bananas. I’m just going to say this is my guess. My guess is it involves the seventh overall pick, but I don’t know that for sure.
Obviously these statements leave plenty of room for speculation and shouldn’t be taken as a new report, but Friedman’s continued belief that the two have had discussions only raises new questions on the availability of Hanifin in the first place. Since new ownership took over the Hurricanes have been clear about their desire to make changes to the club before next season and could see their 21-year old defenseman as their best trade chip. Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk have also had their names floated in trade rumors, though nothing concrete has surfaced yet.
For Vancouver, targeting Hanifin makes a lot of sense. The team is building a young core around players like Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, but needs to put together an effective blue line to experience any real success. With top prospect Olli Juolevi still yet to make his debut, and young players like Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher already getting expensive through restricted free agency, landing another top-4 option with plenty of club control could improve them dramatically.
Speculating about what the package would be is a fool’s errand at this point, as Friedman can’t even definitively report that the two have had negotiations. Still, it’s something to keep an eye on as the Hurricanes approach the June 22nd draft holding the second-overall pick and plenty of trade currency. It could be a very interesting few days for GM Don Waddell, as he looks to make his mark on the Hurricanes.
7th pick, beartchi, stretcher and something else
That’s hilarious