Hurricanes Didn’t See Trade For Cup-Winning Goalie as a No-Brainer

As per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Carolina Hurricanes did kick tires on a trade that would have seen them acquire goaltender Jordan Binnington from the St. Louis Blues. However, trade discussions never got very far, and the deal, which was rumored by a few sources, never got close.

LeBrun wrote in a recent column, “As for the Jordan Binnington-to-Carolina chatter, obviously [Eric] Tulsky did not comment on that. But league sources suggest that while the Canes checked in on Binnington, that was about the extent of it, just a check-in. Talks never got serious.

The Hurricanes were looking to improve their situation in several areas at the deadline. Goaltending was among them. That said, it doesn’t sound like the organization saw that as an urgent need, only willing to spend so much to make the necessary improvements.

“We’ve got two goalies that we’re comfortable with and a third goalie who is working to coming back in time to help for the playoffs,” Tulsky said. “So again, we’re always going to be looking for opportunities to get better. But there aren’t many goalies where you look at and say it’s a clear step forward.” I suppose that means Binnington was as an upgrade, but not one so obvious that the Hurricanes were willing to send a big return back to the Blues.