State of the Hurricanes: Three Potential Deadline Acquisitions
After Hurricanes’ forward Max Pacioretty suffered an Achilles tear versus the Minnesota Wild Thursday, General Manager Don Waddell discussed the injury with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
“That was the most somber I’ve seen a locker room after a game we won,” Waddell said. “That was awful.”
Pacioretty’s injury took place with 19 seconds left in the game after he spent the past six months recovering from an Achilles tear during the offseason.
The Hurricanes’ future feels the impact of Pacioretty’s injury immediately. The talented scorer, whom the Hurricanes landed for nothing, brought a skillset the team desperately needed.
Beyond the emotional aspects of the injury, Waddell’s interview with LeBrun also confirmed that the team might need to fill Pacioretty’s void through a trade. However, the team remains in no rush to do so.
Thus, the Hurricanes find themselves in an odd position. They have a talented team but some holes to fill; can they address this hole without relying on rentals like they typically do?
With that said, welcome back to this week’s state of the Hurricanes.
The Lede
On a shorter week, the Hurricanes looked more dominant than ever going against the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders, as they posted a 2-0-0 record and won 5-2 in both games.
However, Pacioretty’s aforementioned injury highlighted the Hurricanes’ week. Even beyond him, though, the Hurricanes remain a bit banged up in their defense as well.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin missed the game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury, and it looks like the Hurricanes plan to keep him out against the Dallas Stars this upcoming week.
While Slavin’s injury seems far less severe, his absence may prove crucial in the games he missed. Luckily, the team did not skip a beat without his presence versus New York, and if the team continues to play that way, he should get to heal fully.
However, this short week extended beyond injuries. Here are some of the tidbits that stood out from this week’s games.
Sebastian Aho’s scoring picks up
Last week, Aho’s quiet scoring led the way as a discussion. This week, his scoring got a lot louder against the Islanders.
Despite having a quiet game against the Wild, Aho put up three goals against the Islanders to make him this week’s leader in goals.
That game also has Aho right up against the team lead in goals, as his 17 goals land him right behind Martin Necas’ 18 and Svechnikov’s 19.
One highlight of Aho’s week is how he scored, though. On two of his goals against the Islanders, he beat Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho. From that perspective, maybe this game proved to be a revenge game for the Hurricanes’ Aho.
Potential trade targets emerge for the Hurricanes
Pacioretty’s injury led to other discussions about the Hurricanes’ future. Who could replace such a presence in the lineup? With the NHL trade deadline looming in a month, many options look plausible.
If he stays healthy, Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko could potentially be a target. The same goes for Canucks forward Bo Horvat, as both have been linked to the Hurricanes recently.
However, one issue comes with both. The Hurricanes typically do not pick up rentals at the trade deadline, and if they do, they like low-cost acquisitions. If the Hurricanes want to acquire a player with an expiring deal, they most likely want an extension in place.
The most obvious target for the Hurricanes looks to be Timo Meier. The 26-year-old forward recently put up excellent scoring seasons, he has a qualifying option that allows him to stay on the Hurricanes, and the San Jose Sharks look to be sellers amidst a disappointing season.
Meier comes with a $10 million qualifying option, but if extended, his overall annual value can be lowered. Thus, a player like him could appeal to the Hurricanes’ front office.