Hurricanes Pending UFA Re-Emerges in Trade Discussions

His name hadn't been heard in trade rumors for quite some time, as the Carolina Hurricanes are still considering themselves a Stanley Cup contender, despite their iffy situation between the pipes. But that hasn't stopped defense-challenged contenders around the league from trying once again to see what the availability of star defenseman and pending UFA Brett Pesce is. 

Ottawa hockey insider Bruce Garrioch reports that a league executive tells him that many of the same teams that are interested in Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames are also keeping very close tabs on Pesce, in addition to Matt Dumba of the Arizona Coyotes. 

Those teams, as noted by Garrioch, include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators, amongst about 10 teams in all looking for blueline fortification. 

Pesce is in the final season of his six-year, $24.15 million contract extension he signed with the Canes back in 2017. He's carrying a $4.025 million cap hit, and has a 15-team no-trade clause in his deal, both of which could make a trade difficult to pull off. 

The 28-year-old would likely be looking at a $7 million AAV on a new long-term deal either through extension or in free agency. One report, however, had the Hurricanes front office hoping to extend Pesce last summer with a deal in the $4M to $5M AAV range. That's obviously why he's still unsigned, and now has his name in the rumor mill once again. 

Bottom line, however, if Carolina still hopes to be a contender in this year's playoffs, they'll need Pesce on board, so the idea of a trade could still be outweighed by that Cup desire. 

The Hurricanes are currently 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with 61 points. 

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