With Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev facing uncertain futures on the west coast, the Vancouver Canucks need to make a play for a top-pairing defenceman. Carolina Hurricanes rearguard Dougie Hamilton would fit the bill perfectly.
The Vancouver Canucks could see drastic changes take place on the blue line between the trade deadline and the start of next season.
Veteran defencemen Chris Tanev and Alexander Edler are potential trade candidates. The former is only signed through 2019-20, while Edler is a pending UFA. General manager Jim Benning could decide to trade one or both, which would leave two holes in the top-four.
2018 first-round pick Quinn Hughes seems like a sure-thing to make the Canucks next season, and hopefully Olli Juolevi as well. But even if Edler and Tanev were to leave, the Canucks would need a legitimate top-pairing veteran to skate alongside Hughes — especially when you consider that Derrick Pouliot and/or Ben Hutton could also be playing their final seasons in Vancouver as well.
Add it all up, and it gives Benning every reason to at least call about Carolina Hurricanes star defenceman Dougie Hamilton, who has been brought up again in the trade rumour mill, this time by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
On Saturday, Friedman noted that Carolina has four right-shot blueliners, and that “they’ve been asked about Hamilton.” He believes the Hurricanes would think about moving the 6-foot-6 rearguard if a club were “to come back to them with a score.”
Hamilton was traded to Carolina in the offseason — along with Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox — for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin.
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After scoring 17 goals and 44 points last year, Hamilton is struggling with a mere six goals and 15 points in his first year with the Hurricanes.
The Canucks need to call Carolina general manager Don Waddell and see what the asking price is for Hamilton.
This is a guy that could be a key piece of their rebuild; a big man who can move the puck and quarterback the power play. He carries a friendly $5.75 million cap hit through 2020-21, per CapFriendly.com.
Hamilton would do wonders with Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser on his power play unit. And with Hughes coming along, just imagine how lethal the Canucks would finally look on the back end.
The Canucks would have to figure out what Carolina would want in return, of course. But there are some pieces Benning could offer in order to make a big-time trade with the equally struggling Hurricanes.
Perhaps Carolina would like Juolevi, a left-handed shooter who hasn’t progressed as much as Vancouver has hoped. Maybe they’d be able to offer up a young forward like Adam Gaudette and/or an impact veteran like Brandon Sutter — who played four years with the Hurricanes. A second or third round pick would likely have to be available, too.
I’m not saying the Canucks have to offer up all these guys for Hamilton, but Benning should at least see what the asking price is. Juolevi might not even be a top-four guy in the NHL, whereas Hamilton is a reliable top-pairing guy. This is the type of player that could help them transform into a playoff contender next year.
The future is extremely bright in Vancouver, with Pettersson, Horvat and Boeser all carrying the load on offense. Thatcher Demko has been called up, and Hughes should be on the team next season. But with a handful of Vancouver blueliners facing uncertain futures here, Benning has to be ready to replace them, and he could do that by adding a reliable, do-it-all defenceman like Hamilton.
Vancouver is in position to make a play for somebody like Hamilton, a 40-50 point guy who can perform at both ends of the ice. Thus, the least the front office could do is at least find out what the asking price is for the 25-year-old.