Faulk, Skinner subject of trade talks for Hurricanes: report

Justin Faulk and Jeff Skinner are generating interest around the NHL regarding a possible trade, and the Carolina Hurricanes are in the market for a goalie, general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday.

"We have to look at every position on our hockey team. We've gone nine years without making the playoffs and some guys have been here five, six, seven years," Waddell told NHL Network Sirius XM radio Wednesday, according to Sportsnet. "Not that they're bad players -- both [Skinner and Faulk] are some of our top players -- so we want to make change, but when you make change you want to make sure you're making the right change or making the right decision.
"[Skinner and Faulk] are guys certainly that people have called about. I talked to almost every general manager, that we're looking to make some changes, so certainly when other teams are calling, they usually want to call about your better players. So we're in discussions with not only those players, but multiple players."

Skinner, a forward who turned 26 Wednesday, had 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games this season after scoring 37 goals last season. Carolina's first-round pick (No. 7) in the 2010 NHL Draft has 379 points (204 goals, 175 assists) in 579 games.
Faulk, a 26-year-old defenseman who was the Hurricanes' second-round pick (No. 37) in 2010, had 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 76 games this season, his first as co-captain with Jordan Staal, after scoring 17 goals last season. He has 223 points (74 goals, 149 assists) in 477 NHL games.
Carolina (36-35-11) finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division, 14 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have not qualified for the playoffs since 2009.
"We've had some players here that have been here for quite a few years. We know we need to make some change," Waddell said. "We're looking at all those options as we speak right now to see which pieces make sense for us to move out, which ones we need to continue to build around."

Waddell also expressed a desire to improve the Hurricanes' goaltending after Scott Darling struggled in his first season as a starter in the NHL. Darling was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 28, 2017 for a third-round pick at the 2017 NHL Draft and was signed to four-year contract worth $16.6 million (average annual value of $4.15 million). He was 13-21-7 with a 3.18 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage in 43 games.
Goalie Cam Ward, who has played 668 games with Carolina after being its first-round pick (No. 25) in the 2002 NHL Draft, can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He was 23-14-4 with a 2.73 GAA and .906 save percentage in 43 games.
"We all know we need to address our goaltending. It's something that we know we need to be better at," Waddell said. "We know we need to have change there, we know we can't bring the same two guys back. Scott Darling came to camp last year probably not in the best condition, and we never got him to where he was back in Chicago. … We feel that there's still something there, and we're going to do everything we can to put Scott in the best situation to have success.
"In saying that, we are in the market, and I've made it very clear to all the GMs I've talked to that we are going to try and address our goaltending. If there's a guy that makes sense for us out there, we are certainly going to look to make that move."
Rod Brind'Amour was named coach of the Hurricanes on May 8, replacing Bill Peters. Tom Dundon became majority owner Jan. 11.