And I thought hurricane season was over!

That may be the case, but JT Miller Trade Rumour season is in full swing, and as this week has progressed, the winds have moved south from the swamps of New York and New Jersey down to the Carolinas.

Yes, if Monday’s speculation can be believed, the Hurricanes are currently making a big push in what are allegedly the JT Miller Sweepstakes.

And if that’s the case, it makes sense. The Hurricanes are meant to be one of the top Stanley Cup contenders in the league, but with Martin Necas becoming a more full-time winger, they’re really struggling for centre depth behind Sebastian Aho. As of now, the 2C duties are flipping between Jesperi Kotkaniemi (20 points) and Jack Drury (9 points).

The opportunity for an upgrade is obvious, and if Carolina really wants to live up to their potential, the time to go for it is now. The only question is: what are they willing to give up in return?

Expect this list to be a little shorter than previous editions of this column, in which we looked at the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. Why? Because the Hurricanes just don’t have all that many pieces that would both be available and of interest to the Canucks. This would be a set of negotiations with only a few moving pieces, but some intriguing moving pieces all the same.

Let’s start, as usual, with the names that have already been attached to the Canucks in rumours. In this case, it’s a name that’s already quite familiar in Kotkaniemi. Infamous might be the word, in fact.

Kotkaniemi first hit Vancouver radars for injuring a rookie Elias Pettersson. Then came the whole offersheet debacle, followed by a truly massive extension that Kotkaniemi still hasn’t quite lived up to. Seven years after being drafted at third overall, Kotkaniemi has yet to realize on his fullest potential, but that doesn’t make him a bust. He’s still what he’s been essentially since arriving in the league: a big, good-skating two-way pivot with some as-of-yet-untapped offensive upside.

The odds of his breaking out get slimmer every year, but they’re not entirely out of reach yet. Obviously, if the Canucks have high interest in Kotkaniemi, it’s because they still believe he can be something more than he currently is. Without that progression, however, it’s hard to see him as anything approaching a ‘main piece’ in a trade of this magnitude. 

If the first name the Canucks reportedly covet from Carolina only makes limited sense, then the second one makes even less. Rick Dhaliwal will tell you that Vancouver has had interest in Roslovic for a while. And yet, here is a player that has been eminently available several times over, both through relatively low-priced trades and then this past summer as a relatively low-priced UFA. If they really wanted him, they could have feasibly just given him the same contract they gave Danton Heinen. To now covet Roslovic as a return for a player as good as JT Miller just doesn’t track, especially with Roslovic set to become a UFA again at season’s end.

As a player, Roslovic is certainly versatile, able to play all three forward positions with equal aplomb. He’s a great skater and playmaker who is generally fine, but not exceptional, in all areas of the game.

Could he help the current Canucks? Absolutely. Is he a real need? Not really.

For a team as good defensively as the Hurricanes, they don’t have a lot of blueline options to offer up. That’s probably because their defence works incredibly well as a unit, and they’d be hesitant to part with any of the major pieces.

The one exception might be Walker, who hasn’t really worked out after signing as a free agent there this past summer. After a career year of 29 points last season, Walker only has nine on the 2024/25 campaign, and has been reduced to bottom-pairing minutes.

One could see Carolina wanting a do-over on the contract, and thus being willing to ship him out. One could also see the Canucks interested in a RHD who can move the puck Again, the question here becomes how much value can honestly be attached to a player who is not playing well? 

Beyond the three aforementioned players, it stands to reason that most of the value coming out of Carolina will have to come from in-the-system. At the top of that list is probably Morrow, considered one of the top RHD prospects in the world right now.

Morrow is a big-time puck-moving talent who is already putting up good numbers in his AHL rookie campaign. He’s got great size and skating ability, and while he’s not a bruiser nor a defensive whiz, he has the skillset to develop a more well-rounded game over time. He’s on the brink of NHL minutes, and would almost certainly have seen some already this year were he on a less deep team.

We almost didn’t list Nikishin, and not do to any shortcoming on his part. He’s considered not just a top prospect, but one of the best hockey players not in the NHL right now, period. He’s on his second year of 50+ points in the KHL, and on the cusp of coming over to North America to show what he can do.

And what he can do is, reportedly, it all. He is said to be a real presence on the ice, with A+ physicality and positioning, to go along with top-notch offensive instincts. This is a defender who can make a difference at both ends. Were his name to enter the discussions, he’s one of the few prospects in the world who might make sense as a straight-up return for Miller.

Unfortunately, for all those same reasons, Nikishin’s name almost certainly won’t enter discussions.

The son of Jason Blake has managed to step pretty ably from the NCAA right into the NHL this season, and while his numbers aren’t eye-popping, they’re more than respectable at 10 goals and 14 points in 47 games. He’s already being deployed in the Carolina top-six.

Like his father, Blake is speedy, pesky, and relentless, and let’s his internal motor drive his offence. This is a player who might never put up massive stats, but who should play a role in the NHL for  a long, long time.

Folks may have noticed Nadeau popping in a couple goals for the disappointing Team Canada at the most recent WJC. Aside from that, Nadeau is an undersized but talented prospect who is putting up fine numbers – 10 goals and 10 assists in 29 games – in his rookie pro season for the Chicago Wolves.

Nadeau has skill and eventually projects into a top-six role. But he’s got some serious muscle to put on before then, and that makes him more of a long-term proposition.

If folks noticed Nadeau at the WJC, they definitely noticed Unger Sorum, who put up ten points in seven games for Team Sweden. Nine of them were assists, and that tracks for Unger Sorum, who is described as one of the best playmaking and puckhandling prospects in the game right now.

He’s a high-quality puck distributor already, but will need time for the rest of his game to catch up at the North American pro level. Like Nadeau, it might be a while before Unger Sorum is truly ready for a top-six opportunity. Then again, he’s only 19!

The Hurricanes also have an abundance of picks to offer. They’ve got all of their own first and second rounders from here on out, and two third rounders in this coming draft.