Canes typically get someone from well out in left field that folks arent talking about. My guess, not a favorite around here, is Ryan Johansen with a little retention. But alls we can do is guess.
I say all of that and knowing our GM team, as price of the best fit wingers and Cs go up, we'll end up getting a really good defender instead.
IMO, this is a pretty accurate answer to
@Coffeeguy 's (or was it
@Zippy316 's) question...though RyJo specifically is complicated because he's got 2 more years of term...if he only had 1 year remaining, he'd be a prime target.
First, and most importantly, CAR's front office tends to zig when conventional wisdom dictates a zag. Second, CAR doesn't have a taste for impending UFAs and will typically only land one when it doesn't cost much to acquire (Haakanpaa, Edmundsen, Domi, Vatanen). Third, CAR likes to use cap space to land a distressed asset from a team under pressure from the salary cap.
CAR has cap space next year, and a good amount of cap space for the remainder of this year. They don't *need* the selling team to retain salary, which is why they are coming at this deadline from a different angle than other teams. A 1st/2nd line center who has a high salary for exactly one more year and doesn't cost much to acquire is right in the CAR wheelhouse.
Additionally, a #6/7 LHD to give de Haan a break would be pretty inexpensive to acquire. But again, a distressed asset who is more like a #4/5 LHD and has one more year of term would be another prime target.
Ideally, in both the case of the Center and Defenseman, the acquisition would afford CAR another choice in the 2024 off-season, either the new guy or a veteran on an expiring contract (Aho, Skjei, Pesce). Or they could go in a totally different direction at the beginning of the 2024-2025 season. Options.
But, as Gocanes0506 says, this is a SWAG. Grain of salt and all that...