- The Hurricanes have sent goaltender Alex Lyon to Chicago of the AHL, per a team release. The 29-year-old has been shuffled back and forth in recent days with Frederik Andersen dealing with an undisclosed injury, one that it appears he’s ready to return from. Lyon has played in two games with Carolina this season but has spent most of the campaign with the Wolves, posting a league-leading 2.14 GAA in 23 games.
Hurricanes Rumors
Hurricanes, Kotkaniemi Considering Long-Term Deal
- The Carolina Hurricanes caused a firestorm this offseason when they acquired center Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Montreal Canadiens via an offer sheet, a means of player acquisition rarely used by NHL front offices. But in order to do so successfully, they had to pay Kotkaniemi $6.1MM over one year, making it so if the Hurricanes want to retain Kotkaniemi’s rights this offseason, they must issue him a similarly-expensive qualifying offer. Kotkaniemi has had an up-and-down season, and has 11 goals and 22 points in 52 games, a 17-goal, 35-point pace over 82 games played, production that is not typically deemed to be worthy of a cap hit north of $6MM. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Hurricanes and Kotkaniemi have had “productive talks” on the framework of a long-term contract extension, a deal that Seravalli speculates could be worth between $4MM and $4.5MM over a six or seven year term. If those talks end up in a contract with that term and cap number, it would be indicative of a significant vote of confidence in the 21-year-old Kotkaniemi, who has so far had a bit of a rocky NHL career.
Brendan Smith Close To Returning
- The Hurricanes could be close to getting defenseman Brendan Smith back in the lineup (link). Smith had not played since suffering an injury in a game against Pittsburgh on February 20th. Adding Smith back into the lineup would certainly be a welcomed defensive depth addition for the Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes To Host Washington Capitals In 2023 Stadium Series
After a long series of COVID-related postponements and cancellations, the Carolina Hurricanes will finally be hosting their long-rumored first outdoor game. The NHL issued a press release today stating that Carolina will host the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, on February 18, 2023.
Carolina was originally supposed to host the 2021 Stadium Series game, but the league made the decision to postpone it prior to the start of the season in December of 2020 as the threat of COVID still loomed largely. General manager Don Waddell then reached a mutual agreement with the NHL prior to the 2021-22 campaign to hold the game off again until 2023 to ensure that the game would be played in front of a full house of fans.
For Washington, it’s their fourth outdoor game in franchise history. They’ve yet to lose outdoors, defeating Pittsburgh in the 2011 Winter Classic, Chicago in the 2015 Winter Classic, and Toronto in the 2018 NHL Stadium Series.
It marks the second season in a row that the Stadium Series has gone to a southern U.S. market.
Tony DeAngelo Out Weeks With Upper-Body Injury
The Carolina Hurricanes have had one of the most valuable defensive contracts in the league this season with Tony DeAngelo, signing him to a one-year, $1MM deal after his public exit from the New York Rangers. DeAngelo has been brilliant for the Hurricanes, racking up 40 points in 43 games while averaging close to 20 minutes a night. One of the most effective powerplay quarterbacks in the league, 15 of his 31 assists have come with the man advantage. Carolina will have to find a new player to run PP1, though, as DeAngelo will miss about a month with an injury according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who spoke with reporters including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.
For now, DeAngelo’s regular partner Jaccob Slavin has taken over the quarterback duties on the top unit, with Ethan Bear joining the second group. Slavin is a capable player but there should be at least some concern about him taking over the majority of the powerplay time, given how important he is in other areas. There’s no one in the league that has logged more short-handed ice time than Slavin, who has close to 170 minutes on the penalty kill through 48 games this season. Teams have scored just seven goals against the Hurricanes during that time, showing just how effective he is at it.
With that in mind, losing DeAngelo could have a sort of cascade effect on the Carolina blue line, putting players in spots that they aren’t perfectly suited for, or taxing the best defensive players even further. Brett Pesce has joined Slavin on the first pair, while Jalen Chatfield slides in beside Brady Skjei on the second. That’s certainly not a perfect situation, and one that will likely lead to more speculation as the trade deadline approaches. If DeAngelo is out for a month he might miss up to 14 of the team’s remaining 32 games, meaning a defensive addition may be necessary just to shore up the depth.
Of course, Carolina is one of many teams operating in long-term injured reserve relief space–this time afforded by Jake Gardiner’s chronic back issues–meaning any addition would have to be carefully determined.
Dominik Bokk Loaned To DEL
It hasn’t worked for Dominik Bokk in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, and his time there may be coming to an end. The young forward has been loaned from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL to Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL for the rest of the season. He is expected to join the team tomorrow.
Bokk, 22, was the 25th overall pick in 2018 by the St. Louis Blues and ended up in Carolina as part of the package for Justin Faulk. In two seasons with the Wolves, he has recorded just 12 goals and 28 points in 61 games, finding himself further and further down the lineup. As Scott Wheeler of The Athletic points out on Twitter, this move “feels like it may be the end of the NHL road for him” though he’s obviously still young enough to prove otherwise, should his career turn around in Germany.
The German forward was selected after dominating the Swedish junior level with Vaxjo and has shown ability, if inconsistently, to produce high-end offensive results in the right environment. He was a big reason why his country worked its way back into the top division at the World Juniors, and then dominated at the 2020 event, scoring six goals in seven games.
Still signed for the 2022-23 season under his entry-level contract, it’s not clear where Bokk will spend next year. He would be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023.
Upper-Body Injury For Vincent Trocheck
- Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck left tonight’s game against Nashville with an upper-body injury (Twitter link). The pending UFA has had a nice contract year with 32 points in 48 games while winning over 53% of his faceoffs.
Carolina Hurricanes Assign Pyotr Kochetkov To AHL
The Carolina Hurricanes had such little goaltending depth earlier this season that Jack LaFontaine had to be signed in the middle of his college season. Now they’ve pulled off another interesting move, assigning Pyotr Kochetkov back to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Kochetkov had been loaned to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL for this season after signing his two-year, entry-level contract last year. He played 23 games there, recording an impressive .926 save percentage but with the recent announcement that following the Olympics the KHL will go directly into the postseason, his year was over. Torpedo missed the playoffs by just a few points, meaning Kochetkov can now come to North America and get his AHL career underway.
That KHL decision could have interesting impacts on NHL and AHL teams, as players are available a little earlier than expected. The 22-year-old Kotchetkov has a very high ceiling as a second-round pick from 2019 and could make an impact in the Hurricanes organization right away. At the very worst, he adds another interesting netminder to the system as the team looks to go on a long playoff run–Chicago, that is. The Wolves are 27-9-7 on the year, in first place in the AHL’s Central Division and eight points ahead of the second-place Manitoba Moose. A Calder Cup contender, they’ve received another reinforcement just in time for the stretch run.
Trade Deadline Primer: Carolina Hurricanes
With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, being eliminated in each of the first three rounds over that span meaning there’s one more hurdle to reach – the Stanley Cup Final. While they’re in a tight Metropolitan Division, they sit at the top of it heading into Saturday’s action with multiple games in hand so they’re poised to make a splash. And with several veterans slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer and a situation where they probably won’t be able to keep them all, this may be their best opportunity to push their chips to the table and try to make a serious run.
Record
32-10-3, 1st in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
No base cap room, $1.801MM in full-season space with LTIR, 0/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2022: CAR 2nd, CHI 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, ANA 6th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th, CBJ 7th
2023: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, CAR 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th
Trade Chips
It’s hard to see Carolina willingly taking a regular off of their roster unless that’s required to match salaries which could put someone like Ian Cole ($2.9MM, pending UFA) on the radar, particularly if they make a move to upgrade their third pairing. Beyond that, their prospects are where the trade options will be.
One player that stands out as a potential trade option is center Ryan Suzuki. The 20-year-old was a first-rounder (28th overall) back in 2019 but hasn’t had much luck since then, particularly when it comes to staying healthy; he has been limited to just ten games this season with AHL Chicago. His final major junior season was lost last year when the OHL didn’t play and while he got into 26 games with the Wolves, it was in a limited role. In the meantime, others are getting to play ahead of him in the minors and his spot on the organizational depth chart has likely dipped. Still, with recent first-round pedigree, Suzuki is someone that teams will likely be asking about.
Jack Drury is one of those prospects that has slipped ahead of Suzuki on their depth chart. He didn’t look out of place in a two-game stint with Carolina this season and he’s one of the leading scorers for their farm team. He’s someone that could very well push for a roster spot next season in an effort to save a bit of cap space but these are precisely the types of players that teams looking to sell but not get into an expedited rebuild will be looking for.
Defenseman Joey Keane has fared a little better this season, the last one of his entry-level contract. He’s someone that’s going to be eligible for waivers next year and could be in the mix for a seventh defender spot in Carolina as a result. But there should be some teams that would be interested in getting him into their system now for evaluating, either with their own farm team or at the NHL level down the stretch.
Other Potential Trade Chips: D Anttoni Honka (unsigned draft pick), F Andrew Poturalski ($750K, UFA – AHL’s leading scorer), F Patrik Puistola (unsigned draft pick)
Team Needs
1) Middle-Six Two-Way Winger: Carolina finds themselves pretty deep down the middle but they’re not quite as strong on the wing. Another player like Jesper Fast that can play up and down the lineup while providing some defensive value would certainly help give them a deeper lineup with more versatility.
2) Third Pairing Upgrade: Ethan Bear hasn’t been able to have the impact Carolina hoped when they picked him up from Edmonton while Cole is a role player, a shutdown, stay-at-home piece. The same can be said for Brendan Smith. That’s not a bad group of fifth to seventh defenders behind their strong top four but it can be improved upon.
Teuvo Teravainen Listed As Game-Time Decision For Monday
- While the Hurricanes were hoping that winger Teuvo Teravainen would be good to go following the All-Star break, it appears his lingering lower-body injury hasn’t healed as well as the team hoped. Instead, as Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer notes (Twitter link), Teravainen is listed as a game-time decision for their game against Toronto on Monday. He has missed the last two games due to the injury.