What Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell is saying about NHL trade deadline

Get ready to hear some of these phrases in the days leading up to the March 8 NHL trade deadline:

“We like our group …”

“It’s part of the business …”

“It has to make sense for both teams …”

Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, after a recent game, was asked about the approaching deadline and potential changes.

“We love our team,” Brind’Amour said. “We make our moves in the offseason. We’re always trying to get better, but you don’t want to wreck what you have.”

The Hurricanes went into Thursday’s road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 35-18-6 record and in second place in the Metropolitan Division. With 76 points, they were seven points behind the New York Rangers and seven ahead of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers.

Canes president and general manager Don Waddell, in an interview with the News & Observer on Thursday, said he saw no glaring need on his roster, nor a hole in the lineup leading up to the deadline.

“You’re always looking for scoring, but when you look at the list of what’s out there, you have a lot of players on that list where you say are they going to make a difference for your team,” Waddell said. “We’re going to kick tires like we always do on some guys and potentially add some depth, because we don’t have a lot of depth without our farm team this year.. But I don’t see a big hole where you say, ‘If we don’t fill that we’ re going to be in trouble.’

“If there’s someone we could add who could fit that top 9 (forwards), we certainly will look at it. But our guys have done a pretty good job all year for us. I’m not envisioning anything major happening.”

Hurricanes goalie situation

There once was clamoring among Canes fans for a goaltender, but that has quieted recently with the play of Pyotr Kochetkov, the imminent return of Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta’s recovery from injury and Spencer Martin’s unexpected contribution since being acquired off waivers.

“Freddie should be back and playing in this next week sometime,” Waddell said of the veteran, who has missed the past 47 games with a blood-clotting issue.

Waddell has indicated one of the four goalies could be moved to create additional salary cap space, if needed, leading up to the deadline.

“But we’re not giving anybody away,” Waddell said. “Depth at that position is kind of critical for us. But if there’s a deal that makes some sense and we have four healthy guys, we’ll probably have to look at that.”

Players to look out for across the NHL

Names that should continue to be heard around the NHL in the next week include: winger Frank Vatrano and center Adam Henrique of the Anaheim Ducks; forwards Jordan Eberle of the Seattle Kraken, Vladimir Tarasenko of the Ottawa Senators, Pavel Buchnevich of the St. Louis Blues, and Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Adding a depth defenseman brings in all kinds of possibilities, and at lower prices.

The Dallas Stars picked up defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in a three-team trade Wednesday — a high-profile move by the Stars. The Canes’ defensive corps is among the best in the league, but another experienced D-man would be insurance against an injury after the deadline or during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In short, no one at Carolina has forgotten last season and forward Andrei Svechnikov’s injury.

The Canes made low-profile moves around the March 3 deadline while other Metro teams were making splashy deals to add forwards such as Patrick Kane and Tarasenko (Rangers) and Timo Meier (Devils).

Vatrano is intriguing. He’s 29, with a year left on his contract with a $3.65 million cap hit. He has 26 goals and 45 points in his 58 games with the Ducks this season.

The Canes were 13th in the NHL in goals per game after Wednesday’s games. Vatrano could help that. But, again, at what price?

“I learned long ago there’s going to be deals that make teams look better on paper,” Waddell said. “Whether it helps them at the end of the day, you never know. You can make too many changes at the deadline, and teams have done it, have good regular seasons and then fizzle out.

“Do I pay attention? Of course I do. But I’m never going to be reactionary because someone in our division or someone we might play in the playoffs makes a move. That’s not a good way to run your franchise.”

Learning from the past

The Canes added defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, then a pending unrestricted free agent, a few days before the 2023 deadline. They also traded for forward Jesse Puljujarvi from the Edmonton Oilers.

Carolina then lost Svechnikov to a season-ending knee injury on March 11, which in effect wrecked their chances of winning the 2023 Stanley Cup. Not that it has changed Waddell’s approach to the deadline.

“You can never predict what’s going to happen with players and injuries,” he said.

Don Waddell can be a sneaky GM

One thing to remember about Waddell: He can be a stealth player among GMs.

In 2020, a few weeks before the pandemic shut everything down, Waddell traded for center Vincent Trocheck of the Florida Panthers, defenseman Brady Skjei from the Rangers and defenseman Sami Vatanen from the New Jersey Devils.

Skjei might have been the most surprised. He had signed a six-year extension in 2018 with the Rangers and was at a Manhattan coffee shop when his agent called 10 minutes after the 3 p.m. trade deadline on Feb. 24, 2020.

“I knew trades came in after 3 but I thought maybe I snuck through and didn’t get traded,” Skjei said.

The next night, he was in the Canes’ lineup against the Dallas Stars.

“Obviously, it was pretty crazy,” Skjei said.

Both Skjei and Trocheck, a right-shot center, had term remaining on their contracts. The Canes put a higher priority on those players in trades, not those on expiring contracts.

“We’re not the type of team that’s going to give up a first-round pick for a rental,” Waddell said Thursday. “We just don’t do that.”

The Canes traded a 2020 first-round pick to the Rangers for Skjei, and four players to the Panthers for Trocheck. Waddell targeted them and got them.