Are the Carolina Hurricanes trying to clear cap space?

After the surprising trade that sent Calvin De Haan to Chicago, are the Carolina Hurricanes trying to clear cap space? Could they be in play for free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky?

On Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks made a surprising trade with the Carolina Hurricanes that saw the Blackhawks send goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Gustav Forsling in exchange for prospect Aleksi Saarela and, the main piece, defenseman Calvin De Haan.

Carolina dealing de Haan was surprising. Although his career has been plagued by injury, he has emerged as one of the most underrated defensive talents in the game. Adding to his value is the fact he’s a left-handed defenseman, making him an even rarer commodity.

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de Haan was highly sought out when he reached free agency last summer, especially considering how thin defensive offerings were on last summer’s market. He decided to leave the New York Islanders to sign a four-year deal with Carolina, although his stay in Raleigh would only last one season.

Even minus De Haan, Carolina has an amazing young defensive core, but the trade was still surprising. Could the Hurricanes have gotten more? Why would they want to deal De Haan in the first place, especially considering how successful the one year of his tenure was? Was this a move engineered for cap space?

Carolina has a few contracts to worry about, namely Sebastian Aho‘s new contract as he comes off his entry-level deal this summer. But the Hurricanes should still have enough room that moving De Haan and his $4.5 million salary wasn’t as pressing as an issue as the Nashville Predators urgency to move P.K. Subban. Perhaps Carolina is thinking of going after a big name free agent, and the free agent that fits them most is Sergei Bobrovsky.

For Carolina’s ten year drought, their goaltending had been inconsistent. The franchise clung onto the memory of Cam Ward’s 2006 cup run. They never found the same success, minus the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals run.

The franchise finally moved on from Ward this past year, eventually settling with the tandem of Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek. The Hurricanes got lucky with both goaltenders performing well beyond expectations. Both goalies are unrestricted free agents this coming summer, and even if Carolina re-signed them, it’s highly unlikely they would perform at the same level.

Meanwhile, it’s the worst kept secret in professional hockey that Bobrovsky wants out of Columbus, even after they stunned the hockey world by sweeping the President’s Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning.

It seems there’s no amount of money great enough to keep Bobrovsky in a Blue Jackets uniform. And with the team certain to digress as fellow star free agents Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin leave, there’s no incentive to Bobrovsky to stay.

Carolina, however, is a different story. For the first time in a long time, the Hurricanes are on the up and up. Even with the rumors linking Bobrovsky to the Florida Panthers where he would seemingly be Roberto Luongo’s heir apparent, could Carolina be in play? Could the Hurricanes try to make a push for a Bobrovsky?

Yes, the Hurricanes did get a goalie in the De Haan trade in Anton Forsberg, but Forsberg is better suited for the role of a backup. Although he played 35 games this season, his hefty workload could be attributed to ongoing health problems with Chicago’s number one Corey Crawford.

It wouldn’t be the first time Carolina tried to turn a Chicago backup into their starter. They previously tried that in the Scott Darling trade that has since proved unsuccessful as Darling is reportedly headed toward a buyout.

Assuming that both McElhinney and Mrazek both leave, Bobrovsky and Forsberg would make an excellent one/two punch for a Hurricanes team. Of course, the easier route for the Hurricanes would be to try to retain Mrazek and hope he repeats on his performance and using the newly acquired Forsberg as back up, while letting the much older McElhinney walk.

But with the Hurricanes over exceeding expectations as much as they did last season, it’s the perfect storm of general manager Don Waddell to make a bold move.

As the trade sits right now, it looks like the Chicago Blackhawks won by acquiring an excellent and underrated defensive player in de Haan. Canes fans are hoping this trade is all a part of some larger plan. If not, they’ll continue to find themselves on the losing end of this trade.