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The Carolina Hurricanes made their first trade of the offseason on Friday, sending defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Along with DeAngelo, the Hurricanes sent the Flyers the 220th overall pick, in exchange for a second-round pick in 2024, a third-round pick in 2023 and the 101st pick in this year’s draft, which was used to select defenseman Simon Forsmark.
DeAngelo is 26 years old and was originally signed by the Hurricanes as a free agent last offseason. In his only year with the Hurricanes, he posted really strong numbers, with 10 goals and 51 points in 64 games.
There were clear concerns with DeAngelo entering the season for the Hurricanes. Given the team was willing to sign him in the first place though, then factoring in his age and impact on Carolina’s blue line, it seemed like there was a good chance DeAngelo would’ve been a lock to return. Then after seeing the two-year deal the defender signed with the Flyers, which carries a $5 million cap hit, it’s somewhat of a surprising move that the Hurricanes opted to trade him.
Carolina will likely now be looking to bring in a top-four defenseman in free agency. By dealing DeAngelo, they got back some pretty strong picks only a year after signing him for free and could now look to sign a different defender to replace him. Again though, DeAngelo for two more years at a $5 million cap hit seemed like something the Hurricanes would’ve gone for, even with the team’s history of moving on from free agents who were set for a raise.
The issue with the Hurricanes looking for a replacement in free agency is there’s a good chance the team could either overpay another defenseman or strike out altogether. If they do land a top defender, it’s hard to imagine they’re able to get someone who produces at a high level, without giving them a pretty substantial contract to do it.
So we’ll see how the Hurricanes look to replace DeAngelo on the blue line in the days to come.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM JULY
Hurricanes trade Tony DeAngelo to Flyers
Recapping the Carolina Hurricanes’ seven selections at the 2022 NHL Draft 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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