Team: 2022-23 Carolina Hurricanes

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 20, 2023

Published: Jan. 20, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is a list of things that probably won't happen but what makes CapFriendly so enjoyable.

First off, I must say I feel so bad for Patches and really do hope he's okay. Last night may have been the most sad I've been seeing a Canes player go down and the dude has only played 6 games for us. Just brutal. That being said, it's back to business.

Patches injury is a major blow to the Canes. It did not look good and looks like it could be a sign to retire considering his comments after he tore his Achilles in the offseason. Post MRI today we will know more, but you can guarantee GMDW has been on the phone all morning trying to figure out what we can do with the now available space if Patches goes back to LTIR.

Canes have the cap space now to make some major moves. It will require money out to get money in if they want to make major upgrades to the roster and I think this will help the process. Every team has provided some iteration of these deals here on CF and many Canes fans have commented about how certain things won't work.

Let's skip the blah blah blah that the Canes don't pay for rentals. Sure the Canes don't pay for rentals, but the Canes also haven't had this much cap space at a deadline or been in this strong of a position in terms of organizational depth in the prospect pool, standings, competitiveness in the East, with these types of players available at the deadline so we can't assume they don't make a change and go for it this year. Let's assume in this scenario they do.

Canucks want NHL players, not picks. Here you go.

Horvat- Horvat doesn't play defense. True, but who is telling him to play defense in Vancouver? Who has told him to play defense in Vancouver? RBA is a coach that teaches these things. Look at Svech and Necas' growth in the defensive end in the past few years. They were legitimately playing for the other team in the D zone at times and now we see Necas getting in on the PK and Svech making hard plays in the D zone and learning defensive responsibility. So yes, Horvat doesn't play D in Vancouver but you know what, he may be able to in Carolina. And he sure as hell can put the puck in the back of the net.

Kuzmenko is a playmaker and can also put the puck in the net. He's a young forward and at this point is an upgrade over the production we've seen from Tuevo this season. He would likely be a target to resign as a result of his explosion this year. I think the ask for him in the offseason is going to be a very high AAV that most teams won't be able to afford and might not want to pay given the unproven nature of one good season. A bridge deal could make sense. This may be the biggest risk of the whole deal because he may get those offers with term and AAV he wants and likely won't want to discuss an extension with the Canes until the offseason so Canes could be left with what ended up being two rentals.

Kane- this deal only makes sense if he's healthy. Canes cap space allows them to lower the price with less retention. May be some options for conditional picks depending on games played, Canes advancing, etc.

Kulikov- Depth D. So many picks in the other deals that a player may need to be involved to make the deal work.

Feel free to roast me in the comments. I'm looking forward to it.

PS. 3rd and 4th line could be interchangeable. Could also see Kuzmenko earning a chance on the top line with Aho and Kane and Jarvis with KK and Noesen come playoff time, that would be a killer 4th line with great matchups usually and Jarvis will be a more skilled skater to be able to avoid the big hits he takes in top line minutes in the playoffs.

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