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Elliotte Friedman

Barry Trotz Will Not Return As Head Coach Of Washington Capitals

June 18, 2018 at 1:59 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 15 Comments

Huge news today for the Washington Capitals, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that head coach Barry Trotz will be stepping down. Trotz was no longer in the final year of his contract as many believed. Friedman reports that winning the Stanley Cup had triggered a potential two-year extension for Trotz, but the two sides could not come to an agreement on salary. The Capitals will allow Trotz to immediately begin talking to other teams, essentially making him a free agent right away. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the two-year extension would have come with just a $300K salary boost, which would have kept him vastly underpaid at just $1.8MM per season. The team released a statement moments after Friedman’s report:

Barry Trotz informed the organization today of his decision to resign as head coach of the Washington Capitals. We are obviously disappointed by Barry’s decision, but would like to thank Barry for all his efforts the past four years and for helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington. Barry is a man of high character and integrity and we are grateful for his leadership and for all that he has done for our franchise.

The only current other opening in the NHL for a head coach is with the New York Islanders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Trotz is headed to work with Lou Lamoriello. As we’ve seen in the past, teams are willing to fire their current coach when an elite option comes available, and Trotz certainly qualifies. In four seasons as head coach of the Capitals, Trotz compiled a 205-89-34 record and won more games than he lost in the playoffs even before this season’s championship run. In fifteen years with the Nashville Predators, Trotz went 557-479-100 with 60 ties. He now ranks fifth all-time in coaching wins, behind just Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Ken Hitchcock and Al Arbour.

A dozen or more teams could potentially move to hire Trotz, though it’s not clear yet who would actually fire their current coach for the chance. The Islanders obviously present the most obvious opportunity, and it could be another move to try and impress John Tavares before his upcoming free agency. Lamoriello fired head coach Doug Weight quickly after taking over, and has worked with high-price coaches before, most notably with Mike Babcock recently in Toronto. Babcock and Quenneville are the highest paid coaches in the league, a list Trotz will likely hope to add his name to in the coming days.

For Washington, this is obviously huge news but may not come as much of a surprise. As recently as last summer the team was reported to be seriously considering moving on from him, after being thrown out of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins once again. Heading into the season on his final year—championship clause not withstanding—there was always a real possibility that the two teams would part ways. The fact that it comes after the team lifted their first Stanley Cup in franchise history is shocking, but is understandable if the team was unwilling to offer a large increase in salary.

The Capitals now will have to search elsewhere for their head coaching job, but may not have to look very far. Todd Reirden, named associate coach of the team two years ago, has been blocked from interviewing with other teams in the past and is an obvious candidate to replace Trotz for the 2018-19 season. Some teams prefer to not promote assistants because of their different relationships with the players, but in this case there might not be a better option. Reirden was a head coach in the AHL briefly before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching staff in 2010.

Barry Trotz| Newsstand| Washington Capitals Elliotte Friedman

15 comments

Latest On The Ottawa Senators & Mike Hoffman

June 15, 2018 at 2:39 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 8 Comments

As a general policy, PHR does not comment or report on a player’s off-ice situations unless they have a significant impact on their status with a team or around the league. This site is meant to wade through the unfounded accusations or hearsay and bring you only the most accurate transaction-related information and reporting from around the NHL and professional hockey. In this case, we decided not to cover a story on Mike Hoffman and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators because any effect it may have had on their status with the team was unclear. Now, as reports start coming from respected hockey sources on how the market has changed for an impending trade, we feel the need to release something on the situation. The original report came from Shaamini Yogaretnam the Ottawa Citizen, and subsequent response from Hoffman and his fiancée has just been published by Bruce Garrioch of the same publication.

Mike Hoffman has been rumored to be on the trade block for months, and the latest situation surrounding him, his fiancée and Erik Karlsson has only raised expectations of his movement. At one point, many believed that Hoffman was guaranteed to be traded before the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, something which is now not so clear. There’s no doubt that he will likely be moved still, but the situation has increased the difficulty of any deal.

In an updated version of the first report, the Ottawa Citizen spoke with Hoffman’s agent Robert Hooper. In his comments, he made it very clear that he believed there was no place in Ottawa for Hoffman any longer as long as Karlsson remained with the team.

What we’ve indicated to Pierre [Dorion, team GM] is that, and let’s call a spade a spade, it would be very difficult for both parties — both Erik and Mike as well as the wives and the fiancées — to co-exist in the same wives’ room and the same dressing room. 

In my 22 years in this business I don’t believe that I’ve ever come across a situation like this. This is an exceptionally unique situation and one that’s very unfortunate. Hopefully it can get resolved as quickly as possible.

This isn’t something we talked about with Pierre just today. We’ve been aware of this situation since the end of the season,

Insiders all around the league are speculating that Hoffman’s value has plummeted though, and could make it a much tougher sell for the Senators. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that at least two GMs wouldn’t be willing to tough the situation until it is resolved, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes it’s now a situation that could hurt Pierre Dorion’s reputation around the league. Friedman believes that the team dropped their asking price for Hoffman before the story broke, and that some other teams may see that as “dirty poker.”

If you make this deal without knowing [about the situation]—and I think there might be some teams mad at the agents too, but the agents are trying to protect their clients and Dorion is trying to protect his investment—whatever the case is I think there were some teams just mad at the overall situation: ’Oh, you tried to pull a fast one on us eh? So what else about some of your guys are you not telling us?’ It’s a brutal situation.

In a video attached to Hoffman’s latest response, Garrioch claims that he believed the team was originally looking for a 2019 first-round pick and an established NHL roster player. Now, he believes that the team will have to settle for a prospect and first-round pick instead, and lists the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres as potential candidates for a trade. Whether that comes to be in the next few days is still unclear.

The situation obviously also has an effect on Karlsson’s future, though the team has known about the situation since well before the original report. Even Hoffman admits that he spoke to his captain about it before the season was over, but that things weren’t resolved. Karlsson has always maintained that he loves the city of Ottawa and the team, though rumblings of a potential trade persist. If the team can’t get their superstar defenseman signed this summer to a long-term extension, the belief is they will look to move him and start a true rebuild.

Hoffman, 28, is under contract for two more seasons at a reasonable cap hit of just under $5.2MM. His production has been excellent through his four full seasons in the NHL, and he’s coming off a 22-goal, 56-point campaign. It’s obvious that many teams would enjoy adding the player to their lineup, but it seems clear that as long as this situation hangs over his head there will be a smaller market for Dorion to work with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ottawa Senators| Pierre Dorion Elliotte Friedman| Erik Karlsson| Mike Hoffman

8 comments

Latest On Slava Voynov’s Potential NHL Return

June 12, 2018 at 4:49 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

Despite still pending legal matters regarding his 2014 arrest and three full seasons away from North America, Slava Voynov is attempting a comeback. The latest developments in his situation are examined thoroughly by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who claims that there is real interest from teams around the league. That would require a California court expunging his previous plea of no-contest to corporal injury to a spouse, acquiring a work visa for the United States, and being granted re-instatement from the league. None of these things are certain at this point, but he has a court hearing on July 2nd to get the process moving.

Friedman also reports that even if Voynov is given re-instatement he likely will face further discipline from the league, explaining that “no team that takes him is going to get him free and clean.” Though he’s referring to potential suspension or other discipline, there is also obviously the potential public relations disaster that any team willing to give him a contract would face. It’s not clear what the reaction would be from fans, but it won’t be an easy contract to sign even for a small market team.

Voynov, 28, is a talented puck-moving right-handed defenseman who is still in his prime and recently won an Olympic gold medal with the Russian team. He has two Stanley Cups already, and was an excellent player for the Los Angeles Kings early in his career. Drafted 32nd-overall in 2008, he was paying off huge dividends for the Kings and looked like a key part of their future. If those skills haven’t diminished—and his success in the KHL and internationally suggests they haven’t—he could help nearly every team in the league. Whether he’ll be given that chance is still far from decided, but his intent is certainly there to return at some point in the 2018-19 season.

Even if re-instatement does happen and a team wants to sign Voynov, they’d have to go through the Kings to do it. Just like with Ilya Kovalchuk last offseason, the Kings still own Voynov’s rights as he’s currently on their Voluntary Retirement List. The team could sign him themselves, or work out a sign-and-trade with another team.

KHL| Legal| Los Angeles Kings Elliotte Friedman| Slava Voynov

5 comments

Erik Karlsson Not Likely To Get Moved To Vegas

June 10, 2018 at 2:49 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 7 Comments

With their season wrapping up much more quietly than the Washington Capitals, the Vegas Golden Knights will now look to continue their success next season. Due to the failed trade deadline move to acquire Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson many months ago, many people believe that Vegas general manager George McPhee will try to rekindle those trade talks.

The move would make quite a bit of sense since Vegas’ defense struggled against Washington during their Stanley Cup run as the Capitals dominated the neutral zone throughout the finals. And while the Golden Knights have many quality top-four defensemen, what the team is truly lacking is a No. 1 defenseman, which showed against Washington. However, Elliotte Friedman suggests a deal for Karlsson might be unlikely this offseason in his 31 Thoughts segment.

Friedman writes the main reason the original Karlsson trade collapsed was Ottawa’s insistence on Vegas including 2017 first-round pick Cody Glass, the team’s top prospect. The 19-year-old center, who was the sixth-overall pick in last year’s draft, potted 37 goals and 102 points for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Vegas didn’t want to include him, despite the fact that 13th overall pick Nick Suzuki, also a center, tallied 42 goals and 100 points for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.

The team isn’t ready to deplete it’s prospect pool. They would rather move picks such as when they traded their 2018 first-rounder, a 2019 second rounder and a 2021 third-rounder to get a player like Tomas Tatar. They already know what they have in Glass and Suzuki even if it takes another year for them to step into their lineup. However, despite having six picks in the first three rounds last year (three first-rounders), the team is still building its prospect pool for the future and with just one pick in the first three rounds this year (not in the first round), the team isn’t going to build it up a whole lot this year.

Friedman suggests that a better move for the Golden Knights would be to steal away John Carlson from Washington (McPhee drafted him back in 2008). Considering the amount of cap space Vegas has, that would be the best way to bring in veteran talent.

While many people believe that bringing in Karlsson, who has been unhappy with Ottawa’s ownership, is the better course of action, trading one (or more) of their top prospects and likely taking on the bloated contract of winger Bobby Ryan for another four years at $7.25MM will quickly destroy both their cap flexibility and cut into their small, but solid prospect pool. Vegas will have at least $28MM in cap room, so why not just spend some of it on Carlson and keep their prospects?

George McPhee| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals Bobby Ryan| Cody Glass| Elliotte Friedman| Erik Karlsson| John Carlson| Nick Suzuki| Tomas Tatar

7 comments

St. Louis Blues Hire Drew Bannister For AHL Coaching Role

June 5, 2018 at 9:32 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds had a spectacular regular season in the OHL this year, losing just seven of 68 games in regulation and carrying five 30-goal scorers on the club. The head coach that is responsible for that outstanding season has been rewarded, as Drew Bannister is has been hired by the St. Louis Blues for their new AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. Bannister will take over the head coaching role after Eric Veilleux recently left the team and is now working in Halifax. Blues GM Doug Armstrong released this statement:

We are very excited to have Drew join our organization. He has proven himself over the past few seasons in the OHL and will be a perfect fit as we continue to develop our prospects through our affiliation with San Antonio.

Bannister actually grew up playing for the Greyhounds, before being drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning and starting what would be a long professional career. Recording 30 points in 164 NHL games, he would eventually find himself travelling Europe playing in various leagues and countries. He came back as an assistant for the Owen Sound Attack, before quickly ascending to the head coaching position he’ll now be leaving.

For the Rampage, they start a new affiliation after previously being with the Colorado Avalanche. St. Louis, who didn’t have a primary AHL affiliate last year, will try to send the Rampage to another level with their glut of young prospects. Bannister, known for his development of young skilled players, will get a chance to work with prospects like Jordan Kyrou, Erik Foley, Klim Kostin and others before they end up in the NHL.

AHL| OHL| St. Louis Blues Elliotte Friedman

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Canucks Are Content With Draft Preparation

June 4, 2018 at 7:15 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 6 Comments

The 2018 NHL Draft is less than three weeks away. Relative to length of the season, that seems like no time at all. However, in real time, that leaves teams more than enough time to continue evaluating film, talking with scouts, and meeting with draft-eligible prospects. Yet the Vancouver Canucks and GM Jim Benning would be ready to go if the draft was tomorrow instead. Ben Kuzma of The Province reports that the Canucks’ draft board is set and they have no follow-up visits with prospects planned.

In speaking with Benning, Kuzma relays that the Canucks spoke with the majority of the prospects at the recent NHL Draft Combine and feel that they do not need to meet with any of those players a second time in Vancouver. Kuzma opines that this either means they have no idea who will be available when they pick in the first round at seventh overall – although there is no limit to the amount of pre-draft visits a team is allowed and the Canucks could easily cover their bases – or that they feel their draft profiles for all potential targets are complete and they simply have no desire to speak with the players further. Benning said that he was “satisfied with the process of watching them play, the interviews and the physical and medical testing”, but one would think that with 17 days left before draft day, that Vancouver would continue to evaluate players in any way possible.

The other possible reason that the Canucks seem disinterested in spending more time on the draft is that Benning has his eye on trading the pick. Although he told Kuzma that “We think we’re getting a real good player at No. 7 and we like those who have a chance to be there”, it’s also hard to ignore this report in combination with rumors of the team listening to offers on the selection. In particular, it was discussed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that Vancouver could be the leader in the efforts to pry young stalwart defender Noah Hanifin out of Carolina. The Hurricanes could benefit from trading one of their many talented defensemen and a package including the seventh pick could be tantalizing. If the teams are deep in discussion about such a deal, Benning may not find further draft preparation to be a priority right now.

Only time will tell how it all plays out, but Kuzma’s report of the Canucks being content with their draft preparation this early in the process is certainly strange and worth keeping an eye on.

Carolina Hurricanes| Jim Benning| Prospects| Vancouver Canucks Elliotte Friedman| NHL Entry Draft

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Max Domi Linked To Pittsburgh Penguins

May 30, 2018 at 12:52 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 8 Comments

In this week’s 31 Thoughts Podcast with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the two hosts enter into discussion over Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi and where his future may lie. Domi has been involved in trade speculation for more than a year, and after his second consecutive season with fewer than 10 goals, that isn’t expected to end anytime soon. Friedman links Domi to the Pittsburgh Penguins this time around:

One of the things that I heard just around the Cup Final is that I think the Penguins have interest in him. There was a point last year where I thought he was going to get traded. His name was out there. I believe there are teams with interest, I believe Montreal for example had some interest in Max Domi. I think Pittsburgh is going through some changes, and Domi is one of the guys they’re really interested in. 

The venerable insider goes on to note that Penguins’ owner Mario Lemieux and Tie Domi, Max’ father, are close friends. Though that doesn’t signify anything specific, the fact that Marek admits he’s also heard rumblings about the young Coyotes forward likely points to at least passing interest from Pittsburgh.

Domi, 23, was selected 12th-overall in 2013 but hasn’t become the true top line player many expected him to be. With 45 points in 2017-18 he’s clearly not a negative on the Coyotes roster, but after being a huge goal scoring threat in junior and notching 18 as a rookie he was expected to put up bigger totals as he progressed. That progression has taken him all the way to restricted free agency this summer, where he’ll have a very interesting case to negotiate with the Coyotes.

This season new head coach Rick Tocchet made the decision to move Domi back to center part way through the year, a position he hadn’t played since his first year of junior. Though he found mixed success at the position and eventually was moved back to the wing, the fact that he now has some added versatility to his resume could bring even more suitors out of the bushes. Teams like Pittsburgh may want to take a look at the young forward in the middle, especially if he can continue to be defensively responsible and distribute to his linemates. It’s important to note though that 18 of Domi’s 45 points came in his final 20 games as he was lining up on the wing.

If the Coyotes want to move onto the next wave of forwards, led by Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome, perhaps Domi is a name that they’d be willing to move out. Bringing back some more veteran talent to help the team win in the short term would go along with the moves that Arizona made last offseason, when they acquired Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers.

As a note—speculative as it might be—Tocchet’s close relationship with Phil Kessel has been widely reported, and with the news recently of the Penguins potentially considering a trade for the enigmatic forward, a fit could be found in Arizona. Kessel of course holds a list of just eight teams he can be traded to, and no discussions have been reported between the two sides. If the Penguins are interested in Domi though, they’ll have to pay a steep price. Whether he’s a perfect fit in Arizona or not, he still holds quite a bit of value to the Coyotes.

John Chayka| Pittsburgh Penguins| Rick Tocchet| Utah Mammoth Elliotte Friedman| Mario Lemieux| Max Domi

8 comments

Latest On Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes

May 30, 2018 at 9:31 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

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.

Carolina Hurricanes| Vancouver Canucks Elliotte Friedman| Noah Hanifin

2 comments

Video Game Addiction Affecting NHL Prospects

May 28, 2018 at 8:15 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 15 Comments

With each new generation, technology is playing an increasingly larger role in day-to-day life. Many feel that technology should be embraced and can be used to improve upon society, while others feel technological advancements are having a negative effect on young people, becoming too prevalent in their lives. American author David Wong once wrote “New technology is not good or evil in and of itself. It’s all about how people choose to use it.” Few would argue that video games are inherently “evil”; they generally serve as an innocuous hobby and can even be used to bring people together and allow users to learn from one another. However, when video game users choose to devote too much of their daily lives to an activity that separates them from reality, then the gaming technology can certainly become dangerous and “evil”.

Such is the case of video game addiction, which is still a point of contention in the medical community, but is defined by some as a behavioral compulsion resulting in social isolation, hyper-focus on in-game achievements, and a resulting disassociation with other important real-life responsibilities. Video game addiction is becoming more and more common and has now found its way into the world of hockey. In Sportsnet’s “31 Thoughts” podcast this week with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, Marek reveals inside knowledge of a top NHL prospect who he now feels is unlikely to reach the NHL due to a video game addiction (conversation begins at 22:22). Marek declined to name the player, but mentioned that it is a Canadian major junior player and a recent first-round draft pick by a very prominent NHL team. Marek goes on to describe how team management has had to intervene and seek counseling for the player after his addiction led to late-night game play and negatively affected his energy level and on-ice performance. Marek admitted that this information is now a year old, but that the player’s stats would indicate that little has changed. He simply sums up the situation by saying that this talented prospect will “probably never play in the NHL because of a video game addiction… it is that bad.”

The story has now spread to Vancouver after an erroneous report left Marek without any option but to publicly deny that the player in question was top Canucks defensive prospect Olli Juolevi. However, in defending Juolevi, both Ben Kuzma and Patrick Johnston of the The Province tackled the issue of video game addiction in hockey. Kuzma spoke with GM Jim Benning who again defended Juolevi, but admitted that video games are beginning to pose a threat. When asked if he would inquire into prospects’ video game habits at the NHL Draft Combine, Benning initially laughed it off and said “Asking players if they play video games? I’ve never heard that it has been a problem”. That is until now, and Benning got serious saying “It’s getting bigger. And if a player is doing it all the time and has an addiction, it could be a problem.” Johnston details some of the benefits of playing video games, both mentally and socially, and discusses how it is already popular among NHL players. However, he warns that – like anything –  a lack of control can lead to problems.

Video game addiction is unlikely to begin while in the NHL, given the heavy schedule and locker room dynamics. It’s clear that they are popular among players – perhaps even the favorite way to pass the time – but veterans on any team would never allow one of their teammate to reach an addiction level of play. The multi-million dollar contracts tend to help with maintaining focus as well. Yet, the developmental levels are at risk and it will become increasingly important that coaches, executives, and older players ensure that everyone is keeping a healthy balance between hockey, social life, and then leisure activities like video games. Marek believes that one career has already been lost to video game addiction; it would be a travesty to see a trend begin.

Jim Benning| Players| Prospects| Schedule| Vancouver Canucks Elliotte Friedman| League News| Olli Juolevi

15 comments

Latest On Carolina Hurricanes Trade Rumors

May 25, 2018 at 6:47 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to be big players this summer as they try to change their fortunes in 2018-19. With a new owner in Tom Dundon, new GM in Don Waddell and new coach in Rod Brind’Amour, changes have already occurred throughout the organization. On the ice, rumors have surfaced around players like Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk, with Waddell clearly wanting to shake things up. One name that is often included in trade speculation, but usually avoids being mentioned by anyone associated with the team, is Noah Hanifin.

The fifth-overall pick from 2015 stepped right into the NHL a few months after his draft, and is now three seasons deep in what has been an impressive young career. Just 21, Hanifin is now a restricted free agent for the first time and could be dangled as trade bait to try and land an even bigger fish. The Hurricanes have plenty of good options on defense, and even more coming with the likes of Haydn Fleury, Jake Bean and Roland McKeown. Still, it was hard to believe that the team would move on from Hanifin after taking another step forward offensively and looking like he could be a long-term core piece of the team. That’s why it was so interesting when Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Vancouver Canucks could be a “stealth team” in pursuit of the young defenseman. Friedman didn’t expand on it at all, obviously not wanting to reveal whatever made him observe the potential fit.

On the surface, it’s not clear what fit there would be. The Hurricanes are looking for scoring help up front, and other than Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser—both of whom aren’t expected to be dealt any time soon—there isn’t a lot of high-end talent on the Canucks forward roster. Top prospect Elias Pettersson is surely off limits, and Adam Gaudette isn’t enough on his own to land Hanifin.

An interesting thought though could be Waddell’s recent comments on the goaltending situation in Carolina. The Hurricanes struggled in net last season, with Cam Ward feeling the effects of age and Scott Darling not able to reproduce his success from Chicago. Though the latter is still under contract, it’s not clear where the answer is for the Hurricanes in the short or long-term. Vancouver could present an answer to that, as goaltending prospect Thatcher Demko is considered ready for the NHL and is expected to be of starting caliber for his career. The 22-year old is stuck behind Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson for the time being, but many believe he is the Canucks’ goaltender of the future. Interestingly though, the team also has Michael DiPietro in the system, who starred in the OHL again and even got to be part of Team Canada at the World Championship. Though he didn’t play for the team, his selection as the third goaltender just shows how highly he is regarded as a prospect. There’s no guarantee DiPietro even finds success at the AHL level, but so far he’s done nothing to show that he’s not deserving of the third-round selection Vancouver used last summer.

Even if Vancouver doesn’t land Hanifin, the idea that Friedman would need to reveal them as a “stealth” team lends credence to the idea that the young Hurricanes defenseman is available, at least for the right price. Though that return would have to be hefty, some team could land themselves quite the prize if there is a deal to be made. Hanifin should get a substantial raise this summer, but as a legitimate top-4 option that is still only 21-years old, it would be hard to find a team that wouldn’t accept him into their dressing room.

Carolina Hurricanes| RFA| Vancouver Canucks Elliotte Friedman| Noah Hanifin

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