Carolina Hurricanes
Outside of Jordan Staal and Viktor Rask, the Hurricanes don’t have another true center on their roster as of now. The team is loaded with middle-six wings and a pretty scary defense.
The Rangers could look to improve the defense here instead of garner futures here.
One would think that a Kevin Hayes for Justin Faulk one-for-one deal would work out perfectly for both sides here.
At age 26, Faulk could be an interesting piece for the Rangers going forward. He has two years left under contract until he’s an unrestricted free agent. The Rangers may not want to re-sign him after that deal to a contract longer than five years, but they could cross that bridge later.
Faulk has been involved in trade rumors all summer long and with a crowded defense that has four other defenders signed for at least the next three seasons at at least $4 million annually, it doesn’t make sense for the Hurricanes to invest more money in Faulk where they have glaring holes elsewhere on their roster.
Hayes would slot right into their second line where he’d have a very similar role to what he has now with the Rangers. He’d be the veteran center that could help lead the charge for a Hurricanes team looking to get back to relevance.