Why Carolina Hurricanes are NO Longer Contenders

The Carolina Hurricanes may no longer be legitimate contenders this year after a rough offseason. This should not be a surprise when you lose your top defenseman, trade away an up-and-coming young defenseman, and then overpay for Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Here are the major moves the Carolina Hurricanes made in the offseason:

Traded Alex Nedeljkovic to the Detroit Red Wings for Jonathan Bernier, who left in Free Agency to sign w/ NJ and a 3rd round pick
Traded Jake Bean to Columbus Blue Jackets for 2021 2nd round pick (Aleksi Heimosalmi)
Acquired Ethan Bear from the Edmonton Oilers for Warren Foegele.
Let Dougie Hamilton, Petr Mrazek, Brock McGinn walk in Free Agency.
Signed Fredrik Andersen, Antti Raanta in Free Agency.
Brought in Derek Stepan, Tony DeAngelo, Ian Cole, Brandan Smith for 1 year.
Re-signed Andrei Svechnikov to an 8yr/$62 million contract.
Signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a 1yr/$6M offer sheet.

Offseason Review:

While the Hurricane didn't have a terrible offseason, they lost their best defenseman to a division rival, yet didn't really didn't do enough to replace him. Tony DeAngelo may be a good offensive defenseman, but he is by no means the number 1 defenseman that Dougie Hamilton was.

Their goaltending took a step back because they lowballed Nedeljkovic and then traded him for chump change. While Fredrick Andersen and Antti Raanta will do a fine job in goal for the next 2 years, the Hurricanes no longer have a goalie of the future.

The Ethan Bear for Warren Foegele trade was a good one for the Hurricanes; I think Ethan Bear could potentially flourish being paired with Ian Cole.

The Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet was made as a revenge move for the Sebastian Aho offer sheet Montreal had made 2 years ago. The big difference is that Aho was worth that offer sheet, while Kotkaniemi was grossly overpaid for the performance he had in the first 3 years in the NHL.

Locking up Andrei Svechnikov to an 8yr/$62 million contract was an excellent move because he gets better every year.

What they need to do to improve the team:

Looking at the Hurricanes roster right now, they are a borderline playoff team, given the division they play in. If they want to become a legit contender again, they need to improve the defense at the deadline.

Carolina Hurricanes trade Ethan Bear, 2023 3rd round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Josh Manson. If the Hurricanes make the playoffs, the 3rd round pick becomes a 2nd round pick.

The Hurricanes add Josh Manson, a physical, veteran presence on the blue line, while the Ducks get Ethan Bear and a conditional pick.

This is how the Carolina Hurricanes lineup looks like after the trade:

A.Svechnikov-S.Aho-M.Necas

N.Neiderreiter-V.Trocheck-T.Teravainen

J.Kotkaniemi-J.Staal-J.Fast

S.Lorentz-D.Stepan-J.Martinook

J.Slavin-B.Pesce

B.Skjei-J.Manson

I.Cole-T.DeAngelo

F.Andersen

A.Raanta

Spares: Br. Smith, J.Leivo

Looking at the Roster, if they can add a defenseman like Josh Manson, they should be a contending team, but if they don't they will stay as a borderline playoff team.

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

C Sean Couturier -After missing 2+ years, Sean Couturier is back and it seems like he hasn't missed a beat. Believe it or not, Couturier has been one of the top centers in the league so far with his all-around play, putting up 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 PPP, 63 FW, 24 SOG, and 1 SHP. Despite showing that he is still an elite center, Couturier is only owned in 20% of fantasy leagues. Pick him up now, while you still can. Ryan Johansen - Serves as the Avalanche's 2nd line center and plays on their all-world 1st pp unit. Despite not being the player he used to be, Johansen is still a valuable fantasy asset because of the players he plays with. Johansen has 4 goals and 4 PPPs along with 63 FW so far this season. He is owned in 29% of fantasy leagues. Sean Monahan - Someone must have gotten a time machine and put Sean Monahan in it because he is playing like he was back when he was in his prime. Monahan has been arguably the best player on Montreal this year, with 3 goals, 6 points, 2 PP

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

Here are some players you should pickup in Fantasy Hockey, sorted by position. Center Colton Sissons Colton Sissons is one of the best 4th line centers in the league, but in fantasy hockey, he could be even more valuable than he actually is in real life because of what he provides in the peripheral categories. So far this season Sissions has 5 goals, 1 PPP, 1 SHP, 12 PIM, 20 SOG, 89 FW, 15 hits, and 9 blocks. This is a terrific stat line and although you can't count on Sissons scoring a ton, he will fill out the FW, Hits, and blocks usually. Sissons is owned in 6% of fantasy leagues, snag him up while you can. Nick Bjugstad Nick Bjugstad is having an excellent year so far with the Arizona Coyotes, in fact he has played so well that he earned himself a promotion to play on the 2nd line along with Mattias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse. Bjugstad also gets time on Arizona's 2nd PP unit and 2nd PK unit. Bjugstad may not be a name who stands out to casuals, but his fantasy stat line is

Fantasy Hockey Forwards to Trade For

Here is a list of Players who you should consider trading for in Fantasy Hockey. Tage Thompson Tage Thompson had very high expectations of him heading into this season but has been a massive disappointment to this point in the season with only 7 goals, 8 assists, 4 PPP, 60 SOG, and 99 FW. Thompson has been better after coming back from injury and you would think that he is going to eventually start putting points in bunches. Because of how bad Thompson's statline is this season. it would be a good idea to trade for him because you may not have to give up a lot in return. Elias Lindholm Elias Lindholm is another player who has had a slow start to the season with only 7 goals, 10 assists, 3 PPP, 68 SOG, and 297 FW so far this season. Lindholm is definitely going to want to play better if he wants to increase his value for his next contract and also showcase himself for a trade at the deadline. If Lindholm gets dealt to a contending team, his fantasy value would drastically improve b

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