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Carolina Hurricanes: Five potential trade deadline targets

By Tyler Young

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 07: Shayne Gostisbehere #53 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Wells Fargo Center on November 7, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 07: Shayne Gostisbehere #53 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Wells Fargo Center on November 7, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – NOVEMBER 19: Sami Vatanen #45 of the New Jersey Devils skates during an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins on November 19, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Boston won 5-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – NOVEMBER 19: Sami Vatanen #45 of the New Jersey Devils skates during an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins on November 19, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Boston won 5-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

Sami Vatanen

If the Canes are willing to make a play for a rental defenseman to replace Dougie Hamilton this season, Vatanen may just be the guy. The Finn has been a solid presence this season in New Jersey, posting 5 goals and 18 assists  in 47 games. Carolina is in desperate need of quality defense, which is fortunately something that’s a bit of a premium on the trade market this year. Vatanen is currently listed as the second-ranked “trade bait” by TSN. Only Chris Kreider is being listed as a higher-valued trade target.

Vatanen would bring some much needed firepower to the Canes blue line at a time when that is much-needed in Raleigh. He would provide a great boost as Carolina hopes to remain in playoff contention down the stretch.

One of Vatanen’s biggest selling points is that he is a right shot, something the Canes defensive unit is lacking with Brett Peace and Trevor van Riemsdyk. Adding a quality right-handed defenseman will give the Hurricanes more options to work with in the blue-line pairings and will keep the team from playing anyone on their non-natural side.

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