After beating the New York Islanders in Round 1, the Carolina Hurricanes fell to the New York Rangers in Round 2. It was a tough break for the Hurricanes, losing two of the opening three games to the Rangers in overtime before blowing a 3-1 lead in Game 6 to end their season. As the offseason begins for Carolina, they will have multiple key decisions to make regarding their pending free agents.
Hurricanes’ Priorities in Order
The Hurricanes have 10 core players with expiring contracts, so it is likely a given they will not be able to retain all of them. The team’s top priority will be Jake Guentzel, who they acquired at the 2024 Trade Deadline in a blockbuster deal. From there, the attention likely shifts to Seth Jarvis, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce. Notably, this leaves out 24-year-old Martin Necas who has been rumored to be an odd man out for the Hurricanes. Since Carolina has top rookies Jackson Blake and Bradly Nadeau ready to join the NHL full-time next season, there may not be a need to bring back Necas.
Related: Hurricanes’ Cap Situation Could Force a Martin Necas Trade
With the emergence of the two rookies, there are likely to be other changes throughout the forward core. Another forward on the outs appears to be Teuvo Teräväinen who has spent the past eight seasons with the team. After scoring a career-high 25 goals this past season, he may look to secure a contract that the Hurricanes cannot provide. There has not been much speculation regarding him, but given the team’s cap issues, it seems like a natural ending is in the cards.
Once the Hurricanes set their priorities, they will likely begin exploring trade options with some of their pending free agents. Since Necas is a restricted free agent, the team can take their time with him. However, if contract talks with Teräväinen are not progressing, they could look to offload the pending unrestricted free agent for a late draft pick to secure some value.
What Can the Islanders Do?
At this point, Lou Lamoriello needs to get on the phone. As the July 1 deadline approaches, he should mention Teräväinen in trade talks. It would likely be for a late draft pick, similar to when the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Kevin Hayes in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2019. The Islanders have enough draft capital to get a deal done, possessing nearly all of their future draft selections. As well, making a trade with little time to negotiate before free agency starts should be no issue for Lamoriello who has shown an ability to negotiate quickly on contracts, with centers Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau as examples.
Acquiring Teräväinen would be the easy part as the team would need to ensure he would at least be willing to negotiate on a contract. The Islanders could try to work with the Hurricanes while facilitating a trade, but it is unknown how likely they are to help a division foe. However, once provided the opportunity to negotiate, whether it be through the Hurricanes or in free agency, the Islanders need to be wary of the contract they offer.
The deal must not be more than four seasons, have a no-trade clause, or go above the $5 million mark. Some comparable players to Teräväinen are Trevor Moore, Michael Bunting, Tyler Bertuzzi, and J.T. Compher. Outside of Compher’s $5.1 million contract, the other three players all earn, or are expected to earn, $5 million or less on their contracts for next season. Given the Islanders being such a great fit for Teräväinen, he may try to earn some extra money, but Lamoriello needs to stand firm on an offer.
A deal should be comparable to Kyle Palmieri’s four-year, $20 million contract signed in 2021. He was coming off an impressive playoff run and proved to be a valuable asset to the Islanders. Given that Teräväinen is a similar caliber of player to Palmieri, this deal should work for both sides. While he has a no-trade clause in his contract, the Islanders should avoid that mistake with Teräväinen, at least in the final two seasons of his contract, leaving the team’s options open.
Now, making a deal for Necas is much more complicated, and is arguably not going to be worth it for the Islanders. However, Lamoriello should still check in. The Islanders have the 20th pick in the 2024 Draft to offer, and also some young talent like Matthew Maggio and Calle Odelius. If the two sides can come to terms on a fair deal, great. If not, the Islanders must find a way to land Teräväinen.
The biggest takeaway from all this is the Islanders must make changes, and should look to teams where they can find value to get deals done. Evident in the Islanders’ trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, there is internal concern over the team’s dwindling assets, so finding players who can be brought in for cheap is the best route to take, and that should start with Carolina.
