Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are looking to reload following their deep run into the postseason this past year, but have been faced with a high level of roster turnover. And, the departure of General Manager Don Waddell to Columbus.
Gone are Max Comtois, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dylan Coghlan, Brady Skjei, Stefan Noesen, Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jake Guentzel from last year's roster.
While new GM Eric Tulsky has done a solid job of bringing in new talent following these significant departures, adding Laine to this already-stacked contender could be what both parties need to take the next step.
It's no secret that Martin Necas is working his way out of Carolina, and there's been speculation from day one of Don Waddell's tenure in Columbus that he may look to acquire Necas to add to the forward depth for the Jackets.
A straight up swap of the two players would likely work for both franchises, and I see it as the most likely outcome given their perceived closeness in value. Necas is a relatively young forward who has been a 0.66 PPG player during his career, and I feel that he would gel well in the top six of Columbus' lineup.