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The Carolina Hurricanes had a player claimed off waivers this week and are also reportedly interested in acquiring a star forward. Here’s the weekly recap:
FORSLING CLAIMED BY PANTHERS
Defenseman Gustav Forsling was claimed by the Florida Panthers this week, after being placed on waivers. All other players placed on waivers by the Hurricanes cleared.
HURRICANES REPORTEDLY INTERESTED IN PATRIK LAINE
According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Hurricanes are interested in Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine. In exchange for Laine, the Jets would want Necas and Pesce as part of part of the deal, according to Pagnotta.
SAMI VATANEN SIGNS WITH DEVILS
Defenseman Sami Vatanen has returned to the New Jersey Devils. Vatanen was acquired by the Hurricanes at the trade deadline and played with Carolina during the playoffs.
SUZUKI WINS SILVER WITH CANADA AT WORLD JUNIORS
Prospect Ryan Suzuki won Silver with Canada at this year’s World Juniors tournament. Suzuki had four points in seven games with Canada.
UPDATES ON CAROLINA’S FRONT OFFICE
The Hurricanes made some moves within their front office, promoting both Eric Tulsky and Darren Yorke to Assistant General Manager positions. Aaron Schwartz was also hired as the Director of Hockey Operations.
HURRICANES AND PREDATORS WILL SHARE AHL AFFILIATE
The Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators will share the Chicago Wolves as an AHL affiliate, after the Milwaukee Admirals opted out of the 2020-21 season.
As for our poll questions this week, here are the results, along with my thoughts on how they turned out:
QUESTION: Do you think the Hurricanes will finish ahead of the Stars in the standings this season?
(Votes: 38)
Yes: 84%
No: 16%
Despite a goaltending mismatch here, I do think Carolina has a strong enough group of skaters to compensate. Like the majority of readers, I too think the Hurricanes finish ahead of Columbus this season.
QUESTION: Do you think the Hurricanes will finish ahead of the Stars in the standings this season?
(Votes: 28)
Yes: 64%
No: 36%
Like I said in the article, I think if the Hurricanes had a starting goalie, they’d be at an advantage for sure. However, with Petr Mrazek in net facing Anton Khudobin, this could be much closer.
QUESTION: Which prospect impressed you the most at the World Juniors?
(Votes: 29)
Noel Gunler: 41%
Ryan Suzuki: 38%
Vasiliy Ponomarev: 21%
Zion Nybeck: 0%
I personally thought Gunler, Ponomarev and Suzuki were all on a fairly similar level but I can agree that Zion Nybeck wasn’t great and did have the least impressive performance of the group of prospects.
QUESTION: Should the Hurricanes be willing to give up Martin Necas and Brett Pesce in a trade for Patrik Laine?
(Votes: 221)
No: 51%
Yes: 49%
It was a close vote and there’s good reason for that. Laine is still young and is already scoring at an excellent rate but Martin Necas is still developing and Brett Pesce is very important to Carolina's defense group. It’s a tough call.
QUESTION: Are you surprised to see any of these players on waivers?
(Votes: 162)
No: 77%
Yes: 23%
All the players the Hurricanes waived were fairly predictable decisions. Especially considering players would need to pass through waivers to join the taxi squad anyways, there weren’t really any surprises.
QUESTION: Are you surprised to see Gustav Forsling claimed by the Panthers?
(Votes: 72)
No: 56%
Yes: 44%
Personally, I was a bit surprised to see Forsling claimed. He’s a solid defenseman but he’s already 24 years old and hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2018-19 season.
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OTHER HURRICANES ARTICLES FROM JANUARY:
Breaking down Carolina’s training camp roster
Central Division Comparison: Hurricanes/Blackhawks
Weekly Recap: Hurricanes Edition (January 3)
Central Division Comparison: Hurricanes/Blue Jackets
Central Division Comparison: Hurricanes/Stars
Ryan Suzuki earns Silver Medal with Canada at World Juniors
Hurricanes are reportedly interested in Patrik Laine
Hurricanes place seven players on waivers
Gustav Forsling claimed by Panthers 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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