The Carolina Hurricanes are in prime position to make a push for a Stanley Cup this season.

Anything they do between now and the March 6 NHL trade deadline will be with that in mind.

That’s where Jesperi Kotkaniemi comes in.

Kotkaniemi is just 25 years old, and he has four years remaining on his contract. That wouldn’t generally make him a guy a contending team would trade away.

Carolina, though, hasn’t been able to extract the best out of Kotkaniemi. His career might be best served by a change of scenery.

If another squad would trade something of present value to the Hurricanes of Kotkaniemi, it’d be something to consider.

“Kotkaniemi is a 25-year-old centre, and while he hasn’t paid off on the potential he once had as a third overall pick, and hasn’t been able to build momentum or production in Carolina, his age and position may yet be appealing to any team looking for a young NHL player,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos wrote in a new trade article on Tuesday. “Carolina won’t just give him away, and the return has to further their ambitions of making a Stanley Cup push.”

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Kotkaniemi comes with a $4.8 million cap hit, which isn’t nothing, but would also be quite affordable if he can start to realize a little bit more of his potential.

Carolina wouldn’t love to see its young center start thriving elsewhere, but that’s sometimes the cost it takes to make the best possible playoff push in the present.

If a rebuilding team with a proven playoff contributor offers someone like that for Kotkaniemi, it might be the right match.

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