Don Waddell had not even been in his post for a week as general manager for the Hurricanes when the rumors started to swirl.
Just about everybody on the team, aside from Sebastian Aho, was going to be available on the trade block this offseason, according to a report from Bob McKenzie on TSN Radio a month ago. The Hurricanes desire to spark the rebuilding process placed Noah Hanifin, the Hurricanes’ 21-year-old defenseman and most enticing trade chip, squarely into the mix.
When Hanifin’s name is mentioned, the Bruins are often mentioned in the same sentence. He played at St. Sebastian’s in Needham, went on to star at Boston College, and was selected fifth overall in 2015.
The Bruins have pressing needs on the blue line, particularly on the left side. Zdeno Chara is going to be 42. Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk are both 5-foot-9, giving the Bruins little size on the left side behind their gargantuan captain. What they lack in size is offset largely by Krug’s offensive skill, but Krug and Miller’s struggle on the second pairing in the playoffs leaves more to be desired.
If the Bruins want to add bulk to the defense, they could do it in free agency where they’d have to dole out serious dough. Another option is to acquire Hanifin. It’d be a neat story, right? Hanifin returning home to Boston? He could hang out with his fellow New England natives Ryan Donato, Grzelcyk, and Ryan Fitzgerald.
The only snag is that the Bruins, as it stands, do not have what it would likely take to pry him from the Hurricanes.
They have a cache of budding prospects, but currently, do not have a first-round pick after they shipped it to the Rangers last year to acquire Rick Nash.
Carolina is likely seeking a top-five draft pick, plus an NHL-ready player who could make an impact at the top of the lineup. Whether it’s a player they view as a top-three defenseman or forward that can be plugged into the top six, the Hurricanes will want the pieces that can help them balance the rebuilding process.
“My gut is that he will not get traded at this time, and the club has definitely considered trading him with just about anyone else of the roster,” said Brian Lawton, an NHL Network analyst and former Lightning general manager. "I don’t think Carolina will get what’s perceived as his value.”
Hanifin posted career numbers last season with 10 goals and 22 assists in 79 games. He was the only players from the Hurricanes to be named to the All-Star game – an indication of the development he’s undergone in his first three years.
The consensus around the league is that he’s not quite where he needs to be, especially when Ivan Provorov and Zach Werenski, selected two and three slots after Hanifin, have been sensational for their respective teams. Provorov averaged 24:06 on the ice for the Flyers and had 17 goals and 24 assists – 11 points better than his rookie season. Werenski was just as critical for the Blue Jackets and played through a shoulder injury in the playoffs. He had 16 goals and 21 assists, which was actually a dip from the stunning 47 points he posted as a rookie.
“The crux of the matter is will (Hanifin) market him as the next Victor Hedman, and the market, my opinion, is not at that stage yet where that’s how he’s viewed. He could be that guy, and even if you have somebody in the right position outside of that consensus, I still don’t think he’ll get the full value Carolina thinks they should get back.”
Figuring where the Bruins factor into all of this gets tricky. If the Bruins do indeed pursue a bigger defenseman, Krug is an enticing trade target. He had 14 goals and 45 assists – his best year as a pro, and leads the Bruins power-play unit from the point. He broke his left ankle in the second round of the playoffs when he crashed into the boards, but is expected not to miss training camp.
Krug is due $5.25 million in each of the next two seasons and has a modified no-trade clause. Grzelcyk developed well in his rookie season and is a more cost-friendly option. That said, Krug still had a stellar season offensively and the Bruins would likely miss that.
Packaging Krug with a high draft pick could appeal to the Hurricanes. The snag is that the Bruins would likely have to deal Krug to acquire a pick. According to Lawton, it’s more plausible that the Bruins trade Krug, than it is that Carolina will deal Hanifin. Lawton did say he thinks the Bruins could get a pick near the top 10 for Krug and package that with prospects for Hanifin.
“Do I necessarily agree with it (trading Krug)?” Lawton said. “I can see how you could free up some cap space and maybe in the right situation a team dying for somebody to come in and give them offense at the blue line. Would (the Bruins) be better off (trading Krug to acquire Hanifin)? Absolutely long-term, but I don’t think so short term.”
Carolina’s predicament is reminiscent of the one the Rangers were in last year. They were dedicated to moving up in the draft and did so when they acquired the seventh overall pick from the Coyotes for Derek Stepan. Arizona also received goalie Antti Raanta and sent defenseman Anthony DeAngelo to the Rangers.
Whether the Rangers got enough was debated, but they were committed to moving up.
The Bruins will need to decide whether they would be willing to shell out the necessary assets to acquire Hanifin. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, would have to think hard on the impending return.
“This is the fun quite frankly of being a general manager, how you come up with the right solutions,” Lawton said. “Don Sweeney has done a great job, and they’ve had more success than I thought they would have. He’s done a good job and hopefully, he’ll continue with the path he’s taken, which is to try to stay good and get younger – the most difficult thing to do in the National Hockey League.”
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