The Carolina Hurricanes were one round away from the Stanley Cup Final. They had a very good chance of getting there if they didn’t run into the Florida Panthers, who were on a magical run and took care of them in four games.
That being said, when you look at Carolina and what its number one priority or need for this offseason is, I think it’s pretty clear that it’s adding a goal scorer.
Carolina had this issue last offseason and thought it had been solved by trading for Max Pacioretty on the first day of free agency. It ended up being a disaster, as Pacioretty only played five games with Carolina last season due to injury.
The Hurricanes want to avoid another situation like that, so let’s discuss two players that they could acquire via trade to help with their scoring issues.
Who could the Hurricanes target to improve their offense?
1. Alex DeBrincat
At the time of writing this article, the latest report on Alex DeBrincat was from Elliotte Friedman on June 15th, where he said that the Senators were going to take him to arbitration.
Previously, @SunGarrioch reported Ottawa will take Alex DeBrincat to arbitration. Hearing NJ will do the same with Timo Meier. In both cases, team retains rights and can try to negotiate long-term. One year arbitration award in this case can be 85 per cent of last year’s salary
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 15, 2023
As for his fit on Carolina, this makes so much sense. DeBrincat is the pure goal scorer Carolina needs to pair with Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho. DeBrincat would not only elevate these two players but also fit nicely in the age range of the two players listed above.
Given his age and years of control, DeBrincat should be Carolina’s number one target.
2. Mark Scheifele
Mark Scheifele is one of the many players this offseason that will most likely be moved by Winnipeg. He would also be a nice addition to the Hurricanes and has a better overall game than DeBrincat does, not playing as one-dimensional.
Schiefele is coming off a 42-goal season, so he still possesses the high goal-scoring capability, but he’s 30 years old, and the question of if he can reach 42 goals again in his career is definitely there. I put Scheifele behind DeBrincat because he’s five years older and I believe DeBrincat would fit what Carolina is looking for a lot more.
DeBrincat and Scheifele would both be good additions in Carolina.
Both players I listed would be good additions in Carolina. If Carolina wants a pure goal-scorer who’s young, controllable, and fits their timeline, then they should target DeBrincat.
If they want someone who is a little more experienced and plays a more complete two-way game, then they should target Scheifele.