Jeff Skinner joins TSN’s Trade Bait board

Frank Seravalli

TSN Senior Hockey Reporter

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Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters raised eyebrows this week when he blasted his roster, saying, “We can’t put that group out again after that,” following a loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Peters vowed “it’ll be different Tuesday.” Marcus Kruger and Haydn Fleury bore the brunt of his anger as scratches against the Philadelphia Flyers.

That doesn’t mean other, bigger changes might not be on the horizon for the Hurricanes.

Canes winger Jeff Skinner is the most prominent among 10 new names to hit TSN Hockey’s latest Trade Bait board ahead of the Feb. 26 trade deadline. The belief is that the Hurricanes, while not actively shopping Skinner, would be willing to listen to offers on him.

Skinner, 25, is in his eighth NHL season with Carolina. The Hurricanes have never made the Stanley Cup playoffs during his tenure.

With 15 goals and 31 points in 54 games this season, Skinner is on pace for his lowest offensive output since 2014-15, coming off a 37-goal campaign last year. Skinner undoubtedly has the high-end skill and speed teams covet, plus he has one more season of cost certainty remaining at $5.725 million before becoming a free agent.

Skinner is no stranger to TSN’s Trade Bait board, having first appeared two seasons ago. But this time there seems to be a growing friction between him and Peters that is likely destined to come to a head – whether in the next two weeks or the summer.

Under aggressive new majority owner Tom Dundon, the Hurricanes are looking to end the NHL’s longest playoff drought (since 2009). Dundon said last week the Canes won’t make a deal to “make us feel good for two weeks that’s going to set us back two years.” Carolina is treading water in the Metropolitan Division, just 6-8-2 in 2018, but remains one point back of a wild-card spot.

One team the Hurricanes are chasing for that final playoff spot may also be listening to offers for its young alternate captain. Blue Jackets centre Boone Jenner, 24, is having a tough season.

Jenner is receiving 10 per cent more ice time this season under coach John Tortorella, but his offensive production is less than half of what it was two seasons ago when he hit 30 goals.

That would mean the Blue Jackets would have to sell low on Jenner, which doesn’t seem like GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s style, since he hung onto Cam Atkinson and watched him blossom after he was on the trade block two years ago. He is an intriguing name nonetheless.

For the first time, TSN’s Trade Bait board features trending arrows, a helpful indicator of which players are perceived to be closer or less likely to moving before the deadline.

James Neal and David Perron have consistently slid down the list as the Vegas Golden Knights seem more likely to hang onto their pending free agents for the franchise’s first playoff run.

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh increasingly feels like he will be traded in a larger off-season deal, if at all, but GM Jeff Gorton remains open to any and all possibilities.

Playoff-bound teams were also buzzing about Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw earlier in January, but that conversation has cooled considerably with Shaw missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury.

Three other newcomers are trending up: Flames prospect Jon Gillies, Wild centre Matt Cullen and Habs centre Tomas Plekanec. The board’s other newbies are Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton, Red Wings winger Gustav Nyquist and Maple Leafs spare forward Josh Leivo. Sabres net minder Robin Lehner and Blackhawks defenceman Cody Franson make their return to the board.

Hutton, 24, has been a healthy scratch eight times for the Canucks over the last two months.

Plekanec and Cullen are two additions to a shallow centre pool. The Flames may have to consider parting with Gillies in order to acquire the impact winger they’re seeking at the deadline, especially with their franchise depth in net with Tyler Parsons and David Rittich.

Here is TSN Hockey’s Top 40 Trade Bait, whose ranking seeks to blend prominence of players with likelihood of a trade:

The Top 40

 

Trend	Player	Pos	Age	Cap Hit	GP	G	PTS	Years	Clause
	1. Evander Kane, BUF	LW	26	$5.25M	53	16	36	UFA
	2. Mike Green, DET	RD	32	$6M	52	5	26	UFA	NTC
	3. Patrick Maroon, EDM	LW	29	$1.5M	50	13	26	UFA
	4. Mike Hoffman, OTT	LW	28	$5.19M	52	14	36	2	M-NTC
	5. Michael Grabner, NYR	LW	30	$1.65M	52	21	26	UFA
	6. Max Pacioretty, MTL	LW	29	$4.5M	53	16	33	1
	7. Thomas Vanek, VAN	LW	33	$2M	53	15	37	UFA
	8. Alex Galchenyuk, MTL	LW	23	$4.9M	53	12	31	2
	9. Rick Nash, NYR	LW	33	$7.8M	54	16	25	UFA	M-NTC
	10. Jeff Skinner, CAR	LW	25	$5.73M	54	15	31	1	NMC
	11. Zack Smith, OTT	C/LW	29	$3.25M	38	4	13	3	M-NTC
	12. Mark Letestu, EDM	C	32	$1.8M	51	8	17	UFA
	13. Boone Jenner, CBJ	C	24	$2.9M	46	5	13	RFA
	14. Ian Cole, PIT	LD	28	$2.1M	41	3	11	UFA
	15. Jordan Kyrou, STL	C/RW	19	$894K	0	0	0	3	Slide
	16. Ryan McDonagh, NYR	LD	28	$4.7M	49	2	26	1	M-NTC
	17. Derek Ryan, CAR	C	31	$1.45M	52	11	26	UFA
	18. Aaron Dell, SJS	G	28	$625K	23	2.44	.919	UFA
	19. Jon Gillies, CGY	G	24	$725K	1	5.14	.750	RFA
	20. J-G Pageau, OTT	C	25	$3.1M	48	7	17	4
	21. Matt Cullen, MIN	C	41	$1.7M	51	4	11	UFA
	22. Tomas Plekanec, MTL	C	35	$6M	53	5	20	UFA
	23. Petr Mrazek, DET	G	25	$4M	19	2.75	.914	RFA
	24. Ben Hutton, VAN	LD	24	$2.8M	46	0	6	1
	25. Gustav Nyquist, DET	RW	28	$4.75M	52	15	24	1	NTC
	26. Jack Johnson, CBJ	LD	31	$4.35M	53	2	7	UFA
	27. Nick Holden, NYR	LD	30	$1.65M	49	3	9	UFA
	28. Erik Gudbranson, VAN	RD	26	$3.5M	35	1	3	UFA
	29. James Neal, VGK	LW	30	$5M	53	23	36	UFA	M-NTC
	30. David Perron, VGK	RW	29	$3.75M	47	13	47	UFA	M-NTC
	31. Josh Leivo, TOR	LW	24	$613K	12	1	3	1
	32. Andrew Shaw, MTL	C/RW	26	$3.9M	43	10	19	4
	33. Blake Comeau, COL	RW	31	$2.4M	52	10	22	UFA
	34. Nic Petan, WPG	C	22	$863K	7	1	1	RFA
	35. Robin Lehner, BUF	G	26	$4M	40	2.83	.913	RFA
	36. Nikita Soshnikov, TOR	RW	24	$736K	3	0	0	RFA
	37. Cody Franson, CHI	RD	30	$1M	23	1	7	UFA
	38. Sam Reinhart, BUF	RW	22	$3.54M	53	10	23	RFA
	39. Tyson Barrie, COL	RD	26	$5.5M	38	4	29	2

 

Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli​