Way-Too-Early Trade Landing Spots for Oilers Center Leon Draisaitl

It seems like the Carolina Hurricanes have been pursuing one more big punch at forward the past couple of years.

There was talk of them trading for and later signing Patrick Kane that never happened, but if there was a chance for them to add Draisaitl, it might be the move that puts them over the top to win a Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes will have some beefy contracts to hand out in the near future to Seth Jarvis and potentially Martin Nečas (if he’s not traded) as well as potential July 1 free agents, defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei.

If Carolina wants to stop tiptoeing around wanting to add someone who can be a complementary player and say, “Forget it, we’re doing this,” making a play for Draisaitl would be the most effective way to make that happen.

The cost in a trade would be high, but if they’re going to deal with Nečas, build an offer for Draisaitl that starts with him and start adding on from there.

Carolina’s gotten to where it is by being heady about signings and trades, but from a raw talent standpoint, Draisaitl would propel it to another level where it would be extremely difficult to contain.

After all, if the team game plan is to pepper the opposing net with shots from anywhere in the zone, getting the guy who can score from just about anywhere on the ice would be a perfect fit.