Hurricanes Linked To Werenski AND Hellebuyck
Columbus believes that there is an issue here, whether it's a trade request, or an uncertainty, or an 'I'm not committing to an extension next year', it's something like that. And (GM Don Waddell) is working his way through that. I believe he's getting calls on Werenski...(In Carolina), there's a lot of noise around (Alexander) Nikishin. There's a lot of interest in him... I gotta think, just because it's Carolina, they've gotta be looking at Werenski. I think they're definitely looking at (Connor) Hellebuyck.
Nikishin, the big, young Russian defenseman, is currently a restricted free agent. It's already believed that the Canes have included him in a huge offer to the Winnipeg Jets for Hellebuyck. It only makes sense that Nikishin would be one of the return pieces in any offer to Columbus for Werenski (unless Carolina is trying for BOTH superstars at the same time).
"I don't know, if they had a choice, Werenski or Hellebuyck, who they'd want more," offered Friedman, "but I have to think they have a shot at Hellebuyck. I heard he's interested in playing for them."
As for Werenski, he's just the latest in a long line of top NHL stars this year who are considering moving on to a better situation. We'll be keeping an eye on those "discussions" that will be had in the coming days.
“(The meeting is) more of, ‘Do you want to play here long term?’," said Waddell. "Obviously, we can’t get into contract (talks) because he still has two years left, but I want to get a good sense of where he’s at. We’ll see where he’s at and take it from there.”
The Hurricanes are not content with just one Stanley Cup, so they'll be keeping a close eye on that situation.
