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Report: Hurricanes on the verge of trading Jeff Skinner

Long rumored, a move of Jeff Skinner to a new address might be imminent.

By Brian LeBlanc

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Jamie Kellner

DALLAS — The Carolina Hurricanes have been mentioned in trade rumors surrounding Jeff Skinner seemingly since the final whistle blew on the 2017-18 season. In the run-up to tonight’s first round of the 2018 NHL Draft, it appears that those rumors may be finally reaching a boiling point.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Hurricanes are deep into discussions to move Skinner, the seventh pick in 2010 who has never made the playoffs in his eight seasons in Raleigh:

It was previously reported this morning by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that Hurricanes GM Don Waddell and his counterpart with the Los Angeles Kings, Rob Blake, were seen having a “friendly chat” on their way out of the GM meetings last night in Dallas, and the Kings have been long connected in the Skinner rumor mill. There is no indication of who the other interested teams may be, but one of them may be the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose GM, Jim Rutherford, was Hurricanes GM when he drafted Skinner eight years ago.

The St. Louis Blues were also mentioned by LeBrun as having called Waddell to gauge the possibility of a Skinner deal. The Hurricanes hold the second overall pick in tonight’s draft, and dealing Skinner may allow them an entry back into the first round for a second selection tonight.

More to come on this as it develops.

Update 4:00 pm: Luke DeCock, who is in Dallas reporting from the N&O, says not so fast.