Carolina Hurricanes defense even deeper after trade with San Jose Sharks for Brent Burns
Time will only tell what role franchise legend Patrick Marleau played in talking Brent Burns into waiving his no-trade clause to come to the Carolina Hurricanes, but there’s little mystery involved in the rest of the deal.
With the San Jose Sharks retaining a third of Burns’ $8 million salary, the Hurricanes replaced Tony DeAngelo on Wednesday with a former Norris Trophy winner for roughly the same cap hit that DeAngelo will carry in Philadelphia.
Throw in that the Sharks have already paid Burns’ $3.5 million signing bonus and the Hurricanes only owe him $8.6 million in cash over the next three years, and that’s good business — not only a reasonable cap hit of $5.4 million, but with not a lot of money left on the end if the Hurricanes need to get out of the deal early.
And they got him for fourth-line forward Stephen Lorentz, eminently likable but still a replaceable part, prospect goalie Eetu Makiniemi and a conditional third-round draft pick — nothing the Hurricanes will miss. That seemed like a small price to pay until, later in the day, they got goal-scoring winger Max Pacioretty from the Vegas Golden Nights for nothing at all.
Those numbers add up. The question remains how much tread Burns has left on his tires at 37. While he’s unquestionably on the downside of a remarkable career, he still boasts a Hall of Fame beard and still has the free-wheeling skills to thrive not only in the Hurricanes’ system but likely playing alongside Jaccob Slavin, the greatest safety net in hockey.
A top four of Slavin, Burns, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce may not have a dynamic game-breaking talent like a Cale Makar or an Adam Fox, but it’s as strong as any in the NHL in its depth.
“He’s a big man that has played a lot of minutes and been very durable through his career,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. “We think he’s got at least three more good years in him.”
Burns got the headlines but Pacioretty, acquired later Wednesday from the Golden Knights, was just as needed an addition, a natural goal-scorer on a team that struggled to finish its chances in the postseason, fatally so. If he can stay healthy, he helps fill that void. The Hurricanes got him and depth defenseman Dylan Coghlan for “future considerations” as Vegas cleared cap space.
So on a day that NHL teams typically hemorrhage money, overpaying for free agents, the Hurricanes went the trade route instead, giving up very little to fill the biggest holes on a roster that, as Waddell has often pointed out, didn’t need major tweaks after piling up 116 points.
With the Hurricanes gambling Jesperi Kotkaniemi can fill the void at center left by Vincent Trocheck — off to the New York Rangers after scoring three of the Hurricanes’ seven goals on Igor Shesterkin in the final three games of that playoff series — Wednesday’s two trades pretty much settle the Hurricanes’ most important offseason business in a matter of about six hours.
That means the end of Nino Niederreiter’s tenure after he hit the open market looking for a long-term deal that was not forthcoming in the opening hours Wednesday. The door had been open as the Hurricanes shopped for alternatives, but the Hurricanes are out of cap space now.
The Hurricanes thought they had Florida Panthers forward Mason Marchment signed earlier Wednesday — he ended up signing with the Dallas Stars instead — and with the arrival of Pacioretty, and his $7 million cap hit in the final year of his deal, and bargain-basement free-agent signing Ondrej Kase the inn is full.
The Hurricanes tried to acquire Kase a few seasons ago, before injuries derailed his career, for Justin Faulk but the Anaheim Ducks got cold (webbed) feet on the deal. At $1.5 million, he’s a low-risk reclamation project if he can somehow recapture that form.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes still need at least one more left-shot defenseman, but those are easier pieces to find, especially on the left side. Getting a right-shot defenseman who can quarterback a power play is a tougher ask. This isn’t the Brent Burns of a decade ago, but he’s still a player who has the potential to make the Hurricanes better, and at a relatively low cost.
It’s tough to see players like Trocheck and DeAngelo and Niederreiter leave, but even at this advanced age Burns still has star power and Pacioretty, when healthy, is more than capable of finishing the chances the Hurricanes create. That’s a good first day.
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This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes defense even deeper after trade with San Jose Sharks for Brent Burns."
