The Hurricanes bolstered their defense Wednesday, trading a 2026 third-round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.
In Gostisbehere, Carolina gets a left-handed defenseman who can quarterback the power play and slot on the team’s third pairing. It also improves the Hurricanes’ overall defensive depth: The move gives the team four players — Jalen Chatfield, Calvin de Haan, Gostisbehere and Dylan Coghlan — to fill out two spots on its bottom pairing.
“Shayne is a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman,” Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said in a press release. “We think his offensive skill set and veteran presence will help bolster our blueline.”
Gostisbehere had 10 goals and 21 assists in 52 games this season with the Coyotes, who will host the Hurricanes on Friday, including 10 points (three goals and seven assists) on the power play. He has a $3 million cap hit that expires after this season. According to CapFriendly.com, Carolina has just over $2.6 million of LTIR space remaining after the acquisition of Jesse Puljujarvi on Tuesday and Gostisbehere on Wednesday.
Gostibehere has totaled 84 goals — 32 on the power play — and 217 assists for 301 points in 515 games over eight-plus seasons with the Flyers and Coyotes. Since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2015-16, he ranks 12th among defensemen in goals and sixth in power play goals. Brent Burns, his new teammate, ranks first and third in those categories, respectively, over the past eight seasons.
His future, however, was in doubt after he struggled during the 2019-20 season with the Flyers, registering just 12 points in 42 games and even accepting a conditioning stint in the AHL. He had 20 points in 41 games the following year, and that offseason Philadelphia gave Arizona second- and seventh-round picks in the 2022 draft to take on Gostisbehere.
The Florida native and former Union College player responded by scoring 14 goals and putting up 51 points last season, reestablishing himself as one of hockey’s top offensive defensemen.
"I got an opportunity to redeem myself career-wise by coming to Arizona & getting my career back on track. It's something I'll never forget, the Arizona Coyotes & what they did for me to prove to everyone I'm still good player. Definitely a little bit of validation."
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) March 1, 2023
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound defenseman also killed penalties for the Coyotes the past two seasons, logging 50 seconds of shorthanded time per night after never having done so in six-plus seasons with the Flyers.
But make no mistake: Gostisberhere was acquired to boost Carolina’s power play. The Hurricanes rank 23rd in the league at 19.4% with the man advantage, last among teams currently in a playoff position. With de Haan used sparingly on the penalty kill, it would seem Carolina will slot Gostisbehere alongside Chatfield on the third pairing so the Hurricanes can have both him and Burns run their two power play units.
And with Carolina’s top four etched in stone, Gostisbehere — who averaged more than 22 minutes a night this season with Arizona — should benefit from playing more sheltered third-pairing minutes to minimize his defensive shortcomings.
Carolina's top-four carries so much of a workload that Ghost should be able to crush it as the 5/6 D. Still one of the better D's in the league at creating from the point through passing & getting shots through. Just have to protect him so his rush D is a non-factor. pic.twitter.com/7rCZXDKvPW
— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) March 1, 2023
The NHL trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m., leaving the possibility the Hurricanes could make more moves.
