The final verdict is in for the ‘former’ top trade candidate in the National Hockey League, as star goalie Connor Hellebuyck is now a member of the New Jersey Devils (A Carolina Hurricanes rival, by the way).
The Hurricanes were closely linked to Hellebuyck in many speculative rumors, but their trade offer must not have been as strong as the Devils’.
Anyway, now that Hellebuyck has been dished to New Jersey, the new ‘top’ trade candidate becomes Dylan Larkin, another player who has been rumored to land with Carolina.
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Dylan Larkin Would Accept Trade to Hurricanes
In a recent report that surfaced this week, Detroit Red Wings star center has increased his ‘ trade’ list to 10 total teams, and the Carolina Hurricanes are one of them.
The Hurricanes being a possible destination for Larkin isn’t exactly a surprise, as the Red Wings captain wants to be dealt to a Stanley Cup contender and U.S. team, so Carolina becomes an obvious fit.
Expect the rumors regarding Larkin to start getting much louder, and expect the Hurricanes to be linked to a potential trade, as they were with Connor Hellebuyck.
Joe Yerdon (for BleacherReport.com) wrote about Larkin as a fit with the Hurricanes:
“Larkin would give the Hurricanes another top offensive weapon and yet another player for them to stifle opponents by driving shots to the net and maintaining offensive zone possession. What’s more, Carolina has Alexander Nikishin to dangle in an offer, although given the Red Wings’ difficulty in getting their own RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson re-signed, attempting to do the same with Nikishin seems foreboding, given he could just as well go back to Russia to play if he were unhappy with the trade.”
Carolina landed at No. 2 on Yerdon’s list of ‘top-10 fits for Larkin’ based on his new trade request.
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Is Dylan Larkin a Fit for Carolina?
After their shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the Canes are 8-2-2 this season, which is good for the top of the Eastern Conference and Metro Division.
However, Carolina has its eyes on repeating as Stanley Cup champions, and acquiring Dylan Larkin would give the Hurricanes immense depth at the center position. While his contract comes with a hefty cap hit, the Canes have the prospect capital to make a deal work, and perhaps even include Alexander Nikishin as Yerdon noted.
Carolina Hurricanes fans, would you want to trade for Dylan Larkin? Why or why not??
Connor Hellebuyck Trade Sparks Immediate Dylan Larkin-Hurricanes Rumors