Of the various defencemen who have been suggested as
possible trade acquisitions for the Edmonton Oilers, few are more appealing
than Justin Faulk. A first-pair, all-situations right-shot defender, Faulk is
young, under team control for ages and would go a long way toward fixing what
ails the Oilers’ power play.

It is by no means certain that Carolina has interest in
moving the defenceman, but given what we know about the Hurricanes it’s
certainly worth considering their financial incentive to make a deal.

Faulk is under contract for four more seasons at a very
team-friendly $4.83 million cap hit. What’s interesting in the context of our
trade discussion is the way his actual salary is distributed. Via NHL
Numbers, here’s a yearly breakdown of the actual money on that contract:

The first two years of Faulk’s contract paid him an average
of $3.0 million per season, which isn’t chump change but also really isn’t a
lot of money to spend on a top-pair defender. The final four years, however,
see Faulk’s salary climb to an average of $5.75 million per year, nearly double
what the ‘Canes paid over the last two seasons.

This matters a lot to Carolina, one of the league’s cheapest
budget teams.

Relocation rumours have dogged the Hurricanes for years now,
and owner Peter Karmanos Jr. is now facing a lawsuit for more than $100 million
from his three sons. As Luke DeCock of the News
& Observer reports,
that lawsuit could hamper efforts to sell the team, efforts which have already
dragged out for years:

DeCock also writes that some minority investors in the team will
have the opportunity this fall to either become full partners or withdraw a
combined contribution of $22 million (plus interest).

From the outside, it’s hard to get a clear picture of the
Hurricanes’ financial situation, but it’s no secret that the team has had
struggles at the gate, that years of losing has undercut the club’s ability to
raise other revenue, or that the team consistently comes in near the bottom of
the league in terms of payroll.

That brings us back to Faulk. Not only is he about to land a
big raise, but the ‘Canes have a bunch of good young defencemen behind him.

Carolina has a lot of impressive talent on the blue line.
Noah Hanifin, the No. 5 pick at last year’s draft, logged nearly 18 minutes per
game as a rookie. Faulk is only 24 years old but remarkably Hanifin was one of
four defencemen younger than him to play in at least 25 games last year. Jaccob
Slavin and Brett Pesce were regulars, while offensive rearguard Ryan Murphy
split time between the majors and the minors. Meanwhile 2014 No. 7 pick Haydn
Fleury is in the system and 21-year-old Trevor Carrick had a second strong
campaign in the AHL.  

The trick for the Hurricanes would be to get a fair return
while at the same time slashing costs. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ name comes up a
lot, but he’s not an ideal fit; although he brings the ‘Canes closer to the cap
floor his $6.0 million salary doesn’t represent any financial savings.

Leon Draisaitl, on the other hand, would likely come much
cheaper. He’d help fill the Hurricanes’ need at centre while at the same time
carrying a base salary of just
$925,000 next year (plus whatever bonuses he attained). When his
entry-level deal expires, Carolina could offer him the same kind of cheap
bridge deal that it recently awarded Elias
Lindholm.

Other players who might plausibly be of interest in the same
vein include Oscar Klefbom, who over the next three years will be paid $2.0
million less than his annual sticker price would indicate. Meanwhile defenders
Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart are still on their entry level deals and
would presumably also be of interest.