The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL this year. The Canes are 13-5-2 this season, which is the best record in the Eastern Conference. While the squad is tops in the conference, there is still one overreaction trade for Carolina to make.
Rod Brind'Amour's group has lost three of their last five games. In the process, the defense has failed them. In the last three losses, the Hurricanes have given up 11 goals, including three and a shootout goal, in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. This year, the team has just seven losses overall, but has given up three or more goals in six of the seven losses.
Meanwhile, the offense has been stellar. The Hurricanes are second in the NHL in goals per game, scoring 3.60 goals per contest this season. They are also the top team in terms of scoring in the conference. They've failed to score three goals just four times in 20 games so far.
Goaltending has not been great this season. Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi both have save percentages below .900, while Andersen has a 3.07 goals-against average. Pyotr Kochetkov has been great, going 4-0-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. But he's struggled to stay healthy. While goaltending has been an issue overall, the team needs help to improve its defense.
Flames' Rasmus Andersson is the big catch for the Hurricanes
Nine different players have played on the blue line for the Hurricanes this year. Shayne Gostisbehere has only played 11 games as the top defender on the team. He is currently the second-best player, in 5v5 situations, in projected goals against per 60 minutes on the team, behind just Jaccob Slavin, who has played in just two games. Slavin was hurt in mid-October, but will return to the lineup, which will help the defense.
Gostisbehere leads the team in expected goals per 60 minutes in all situations, averaging just 1.45 expected goals against per 60 minutes of play. He is currently averaging just 18:06 of ice time per game, which leads to just .44 goals expected per game with him on the ice.
Still, the rest of the blue line has struggled. Sean Walker is currently playing next to Gostisbehere on the top pairing. Walker has a 3.24 expected goals per 60 minutes this year. That means if Walker plays in 20 minutes per game, a goal is expected to be scored every game he takes the ice. Joel Nystrom is currently the second rotation right-side defender and is sitting at over 2.6 in expected goal rate. That is still near a goal per game.
Rasmus Andersson has long been the subject of trade talks. He is having a down year, as the Calgary Flames have struggled as a whole. Andersson has a 2.69 expected goals per 60 rate currently, but that is also one of the worst rates of his career. He is a plus defender on the right side of the defense, and will complement either Gostisbehere or K'Andre Miller in improving this Hurricanes defense.
The Calgary blue liner is in the last year of his contract, and does have a modified no-trade clause. Still, he could easily waive that to go from one of the worst teams in the NHL to one of the best. Further, he has just a $4.55 million cap hit, which the Canes can right now absorb. He is eligible to hit free agency at the end of the year. Meanwhile, Carolina is expected to have over $15 million in cap space this summer, and with a majority of the roster under contract, they could also sign him to an extension.
The Hurricanes have consistently been a playoff threat in the Eastern Conference. They have been to the playoffs seven straight seasons. A player like Andersson could be the move that gets them back to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006.
